Changes
by hinatasgreatestfan
Summary: Tsunade rearranges the Rookie Nine teams after the Bikochu Arc.  Where will this lead?
1. New Teams

Chapter 1

Tsunade was frustrated. No, scratch that. She was FURIOUS! ENRAGED! PISSED OFF BEYOND BELIEF! Yeah, that about summed it up. She was going over all the files of the so-called Rookie Nine and looking at how their teams had been set up, and, to say the least, it was leaving a rancid taste in her mouth. The Ino-Shika-Cho trio had been forced together even though they weren't a balanced team really, Sasuke and Hinata were on separate teams for no better reason than because they both held Kekkei Genkai, even though the two of them had very different specialties and could have been part of a functional team, and Team 8 was nothing but trackers. DAMN IT! Yes, Tsunade was getting more and more pissed off the more she looked at this. Team 8 was too heavily specialized in tracking, Team 10 was just a shadow of a previous team, and Team 7 was, for lack of a better term, leftovers.

It didn't help that two weeks ago, Sasuke had left, making Team 7, already a team made of leftovers, one short. Of course, his two teammates, Naruto and Sakura, were both determined to get him back, but that wasn't happening. Tsunade chuckled at that, in spite of her irritation. Yes, it was time. She had a lot of things to do, and now was the time to do it. Those teams had to go. Thinking about that, she tossed aside the team files and set out the files containing information on the remaining Genin of the Rookie Nine. Sasuke was gone, and Shikamaru was a Chunin now, and there was one other thing. Tsunade took one file out and set it aside, having decided she was going to promote another one of the Genin to Chunin. She chuckled, thinking how the others would react to that one, then got back to what she was doing.

So, that meant every team was missing someone, and there were six Genin left. Two teams worth, in other words. Perfect. Naruto, Hinata, Kiba, Sakura, Ino, and Choji were the six left. Tsunade grinned, thinking of how things were about to change. She was still a bit annoyed about the teams being so messed up by her old sensei, but now that she had a solution, she was feeling a good bit better.

An Hour Later

Naruto was traveling through the village on his way to his favorite ramen stand for lunch. He had developed an odd sneezing fit about an hour ago, but now he was fine, simply concentrating on getting food. He was smiling, as always, but today especially it was fake. He had been thinking of Sasuke today almost non-stop. To say that wasn't conducive to a true smile would be the understatement of the millennium. Even now, the betrayal of his brother ate away at him. He doubted that he would ever truly get over it, really. Naruto wasn't the introspective type, to say the least, but even he realized that this betrayal was one that would hurt him till the day he died. He sat down at the ramen stand and ordered lunch, making the conscious decision to forget his brother for the time being.

Meanwhile, Hinata was sparring with her younger sister, Hanabi. She was holding back, as she always did. Like Naruto, she had developed a violent sneezing fit an hour before; though in Hinata's case it left her red-faced and winded. Now she found herself facing the angry eyes of her sister. Hanabi's anger baffled Hinata, as always. She found herself unable to truly attack her sister, however. She just couldn't; Hinata was too kind for her own good in a lot of ways. As a result, this day, like so many others, she lost her spar within moments as Hanabi shut down several of her chakra points. Hinata had only one thought on her mind. "_If only Naruto would see me, acknowledge me, I wouldn't have to go through this. If only he would just acknowledge my existence, I would have the confidence to do anything," _she thought. She laughed silently at herself, knowing that her dream would never come to be. That depressing thought in her mind, she laid down on her stomach and lost consciousness.

As Hinata was losing to her sister for the umpteenth time, Kiba was out in the woods with Akamaru, training. The boy-dog team had done this training hundreds of times, and yet every time they did it, the two got more efficient, more accurate, faster, stronger, better. They were to the point now that they could bore through a tree in less than ten seconds. They had done this several times today, in fact. Like the others, Kiba had had a sneezing fit that morning, about an hour ago. Kiba hadn't thought anything of it, though, unlike the others; he had been out in the woods by the time it happened and assumed it was just his allergies.

Sakura found herself in the hospital. As she had decided by now that medical jutsu was likely her best bet to be able to help Naruto and/or Sasuke, she had been spending time there, asking the medical ninja questions and things like that. Today, she had been visiting her friends that were there as well. Lee, in particular. She had been in his room when her version of the sneezing fit occurred. Hers in particular had led to a very awkward result. As she was sneezing, she had been leaning over Lee, using a jutsu she had been shown. He had volunteered to let her try it on him, and she had been doing so to see if she could diagnose him. It helped that she knew what was wrong with him already, but she thought she could tell somewhat as well. She had been leaning down when she started sneezing, which caused her to fly forward and, in a moment of either fate or coincidence, Lee had been trying to sit up just then as she had stopped her jutsu. The result of this? They kissed. Sakura, though shocked, was surprised when she found it wasn't unpleasant at all. Lee, naturally, was ecstatic, though he didn't show it. Naturally, that event put the sneezing fit right out of Sakura's mind.

Ino and Choji were eating lunch together. Like Naruto, Choji was focusing on that to put other things out of his mind (like Jirobo, the thought of that fatso brought horrid memories to Choji, and Ino, whose proximity was extremely distracting to the heavy-set youth); unlike his blond friend, however, he was concentrating on barbecue. Choji and Ino, like the others, had gone through a violent sneezing fit an hour ago. Choji had been going into the flower shop, hoping to see Ino, when theirs started. As luck would have it, she had been there, minding the shop. Choji went up to the counter, once the two of them finally stopped sneezing, and greeted Ino cheerfully. She said hi back, then the two made small-talk for a while. Finally, Choji decided it was time to bring up why he was there.

"You know, Ino, almost dying really puts things in perspective. It makes you see what really matters," he said, trying to act casual.

"I'm sure it would, Choji," Ino said, intrigued by the sudden turn in the conversation. She looked at her big-boned teammate and gave him an encouraging smile.

Choji returned her smile, unable to help himself. Then he said, "I remember when I was sitting out there, feeling my life drain from me. I was only thinking of two people, Ino." She nodded that she understood and for him to go on. "Shikamaru, of course, was on my mind. I was thinking of all the times he believed in me when no one else did and when he was there for me when everyone else abandoned me," he said, giving a small smile at the thought of his best friend.

"I know you two are really close, Choji, and I for one am glad. I know how much a best friend can mean," Ino said, thinking of Sakura and how close the two girls had been before their rivalry started. She frowned; even that could be laid at Sasuke's feet, in an indirect way. "But, who was the other person on your mind, Choji?" Ino asked.

Choji blushed a little. "You, Ino," he said. She gasped and looked at him, surprised. "I know this is going to sound ridiculous, but while I was sitting there, knowing I was done for, knowing I was going to die there, I just kept thinking of you and all the times I'd wanted to ask you out, and all the times I'd been too much of a coward to actually do it," he told her, blushing a little more. Ino was in shock. She had never really thought Choji liked her, yet here he was, saying he did. He reached over and took her hand gently. "Ino, I've wanted to ask you this for a long time. Will you consent to go on a date with me?" Choji asked her.

Ino gasped. She had been asked on a date? For all her talk of how beautiful she was and all that, she had never once been asked out. And now she had, by her own teammate no less. "I...I'd love to, Choji," she said, blushing a little herself.

Choji looked up, shocked. Wait a minute, she said yes? He couldn't believe it. On impulse, he pulled her into a hug. Ino was surprised, but hugged him back. She realized at that moment just how strong and yet gentle Choji was. She smiled to herself. She knew Choji, of course, and she knew he wouldn't hurt her. She nodded silently, thinking to herself, "_I've got myself a winner here."_

And so it was that the two of them found themselves eating lunch together. Ino was wondering why Choji kept looking away from her, and Choji kept wondering why Ino was staring at him. The two had no idea that their own actions were the cause of the actions of the other that had them so baffled.

Shino was spending his day at home, tending to his bugs. Like all the others, he had experienced a sneezing fit. In his case, it went more or less unnoticed, except that it bothered his bugs.

Tsunade gave an order; she had spent the last hour talking to the three Jonin sensei of the Rookie Nine. As she spoke, seven ANBU scattered through the village to find the Genin of said group. Moments later, the ANBU found them and summoned them all to the Hokage's office. The one who found Naruto was none-too-gentle with his message, but the rest found it relatively commonplace.

So it was that Tsunade gathered the seven remaining Genin of the Rookie Nine before her to make her announcement. She groaned, knowing none of them would like this, Naruto and Sakura in particular. "All right, first off, Shino Aburame, step forward," she said. Shino stepped forward. Tsunade pulled out a vest and handed it to him. "You are hereby promoted to the rank of Chunin. Congratulations, Shino," she told the stoic boy. The other six applauded him. "Shikamaru, come in here please," Tsunade called out. Said lazy Chunin came in from the hallway. "Shikamaru, you and Shino will be a Chunin squad from this day on, is that understood?"

"Yes, Lady Tsunade," both boys answered. Shikamaru mumbled something about it being a drag, but neither one objected.

"All right, you two may sit down," she said. The two did, and she turned to the other six. "As for you six, I'm sure you all realize by now that your teams no longer make sense. Naruto and Sakura, Ino and Choji, and Kiba and Hinata, as your teams stand, you're each missing a member now, since these two got promoted and Sasuke left," Tsunade said, gesturing at the two Chunin as she said this. "Now, Naruto, you agreed to stop trying for Sasuke after the Bikochu incident. You failed at that, so your chances are up, young man. From this day forth, Sasuke Uchiha is a traitor, and is to be killed on sight, got me?" This was the one that she knew was going to cause at least two Genin to be very pissed off. The reactions were predictable: Sakura cried silently, Kiba smirked, Hinata watched Naruto, Ino looked surprised, and Choji didn't look to care at all. Of course, the two Chunin didn't even flinch, being who they were. As for Naruto?

Fists clenched at his side, Naruto yelled, "HOW DARE YOU! Sasuke is a member of Team 7 now and forever, Granny Tsunade! How dare you label him a traitor? And how dare you say he is to be killed on sight?"

Tsunade rose and pounded her desk. "HE IS A TRAITOR YOU FOOL! He abandoned not only this village, but YOU! HE TRIED TO KILL YOU, NARUTO!" she screamed. Naruto looked up at her in shock. She took a deep breath and sat down. "Oh, and as I was saying, as for your old teams, Teams 7, 8, and 10 are hereby disbanded, effective immediately."

This caused all eight members of the Rookie Nine currently in the room to look surprised. Even Shino gasped slightly at that. Tsunade had accomplished what she wanted, however; she had shut Naruto up. Shikamaru, thinking a moment, finally nodded, realizing what Tsunade was up to. "Lady Hokage, if I may?" the lazy boy spoke up. Tsunade nodded. "Guys, seriously, our teams have been unbalanced from the start. I didn't think about it before, but now that I do, I realized Tsunade here is going to fix that. Shino, Kiba, and Hinata all specialize in tracking and finding hidden enemies. A great specialty for a team member, but not for a whole team. I could say the same of all our teams. While our teams have functioned, we could do so much better."

"I agree, Shikamaru," Tsunade said. "And yes, I do intend to fix that. I've spent the last hour and a bit thinking about who to put on teams with whom. Now, I'm going to give you your new teams, of which there are two, by the way. I will brook no argument, no complaints, got me?" Everyone in the room nodded. "All right, good. Naruto, Hinata, Kiba, you three are Team Kurenai. Ino, Choji, Sakura, you three are Team Asuma. Obviously, your teams are named for your sensei. I kept the majority of each team with their old sensei. So, Hinata, Kiba, you two need to tell Naruto where to meet with Kurenai tomorrow. Ino, Choji, same for you with Sakura. Oh, and if Asuma tries to slack off on training you guys to play Shogi with Shikamaru here, let me know," she said, a grin on her face at the last part. Ino nodded. "Okay, all of you, get out of here. Naruto, you stay behind a moment, I need to talk to you."

Moments later, all of the Genin and Chunin were gone, except Naruto, who still stood before Tsunade, and Hinata, who couldn't resist trying to listen in. She was out in the hallway, having said she was going to wait and let Naruto know where they met as a team. Tsunade chuckled, knowing Hinata was out there. Naruto approached the Hokage's desk and asked, "Okay, Granny Tsunade, what do you need with me?"

Tsunade held up a hand to silence Naruto. She turned to the door and said, "Hinata, come in here."

Hinata gasped, realizing she'd been found out. She slowly opened the door and re-entered the Hokage's office. She bowed low and said softly, "I'm sorry, Lady Tsunade, I didn't mean to intrude." She looked up at the two, blushing furiously.

Tsunade smiled at the shy kunoichi. "That's all right, Hinata. I wanted to talk to you both, I just didn't want the others to know that. I'm glad you stayed," she said, smiling a true smile for once. Hinata looked confused and Naruto watched, waiting. "You two are going to be on a team from now on. Obviously, I know you two aren't best friends or anything, but there is a reason I put you two on a team together. I wanted to talk to you both about it," Tsunade explained.

Naruto couldn't take it anymore. "All right, then, what gives? Why am I being separated from Sakura and being given a new team?" he asked.

Hinata stammered out, "I'm sorry, N-N-Naruto. I d-d-didn't mean to be a b-burden to you."

Naruto turned to Hinata in surprise. Where had she come up with that idea? "I didn't mean that, Hinata. You're not a burden to me. In fact, I'm more than willing to get to know you as teammates and all that. All I meant is that with Sasuke leaving and now this, it's like my old team has been intentionally taken apart piece by piece. Hell, I'm not even going to have the same sensei anymore. It's not that I'm upset, and I'm certainly not upset at you, I just want to know why," he told her. Hinata, realizing what he was saying and how much of his attention was focused on her, blushed deep red.

Tsunade chuckled. These two would be such a good couple. She knew from watching Hinata that she had a huge crush on Naruto, and she now saw that Naruto, if he tried, could be very considerate. She smiled; she had already taken the first step toward making them a couple, she realized. "Well, to answer your question, Naruto, it's nothing against you. Think about it, Sakura's had her team taken apart, too. The reason I'm putting you two together is simple. Hinata here will be able to teach you the finer points of how to act in society, which, by the way, you'll need to know if you want to be Hokage. Hinata, I hope that having Naruto on your team will help you as well. I hope he can help you gain confidence and break out of your shell. Also, from what I've seen of your mission reports, you two work very well together, even if a lot of your missions have failed. I believe, with proper supervision, you two could make a hell of a pair. If I'm right, and if you prove my faith in you is well-founded, when you two become Chunin, I can even set you two up as a Chunin squad, like I did today with Shino and Shikamaru. So, Naruto, you wanted to know why. That's why," Tsunade said, smiling softly.

Naruto thought about that a moment, letting it sink in. A Chunin squad? With Hinata? Finer points of how to act in society? Well, if that would help him in his progression toward being Hokage, so be it, he'd do it. "All right, I'll do it. Oh, and Hinata?"

Hinata had been listening, but wasn't expecting him to address her. She jumped slightly, then stammered, "Y-Y-Yes, N-Naruto?"

"If I'm holding you back, don't hesitate to tell me, all right? If I start to slow us down, I'll train harder than ever to keep up," the blond said.

Hinata blushed at that. "I doubt you could ever hold me back, Naruto. I just hope I don't slow you down," she said. "And I promise, Naruto, I'll do the best I can to help you learn what you need to. In fact, it will be a pleasure and an honor to help you attain your dream." Hinata hesitated a moment, then continued, "I know how much your dream of becoming Hokage means to you, Naruto, and it is my dream to help you attain your dream."

Naruto looked at the shy girl before him, wondering what in the world she meant. He finally smiled, one of his true smiles, and Hinata's heart melted. "Thank you, Hinata. It really means a lot to me to know you care so much," he said. Hinata blushed, and Naruto continued, "It really does mean everything to me to attain my dream. No one has ever offered to help me before. Thank you." He bowed to her, a very deep bow, which surprised both Tsunade (to whom Naruto had never once bowed) and Hinata, who had never had anyone bow to her like that before.

Tsunade saw Hinata's blush rising and knew what would happen in a moment if she didn't stop it. "Hinata, get out of here before you faint. Thank you. Now I do need to talk to Naruto in private a while," she said, giving Hinata a conspiratorial grin.

Hinata bowed to Tsunade. "Yes, Lady Tsunade," she said, then turned to Naruto. "Oh, Naruto, tomorrow at 9:00, meet up at Training Ground 30. That's where we always meet in the mornings, so Kiba, Kurenai-sensei, and I will be there. I'll see you there, all right?" Naruto nodded, and Hinata bowed again and left, blushing furiously. This time, the shy kunoichi actually left the building, her mind swirling with thoughts of being on a team with her long-time crush. She spent the next half hour walking around the village at random, simultaneously wanting to be alone and hoping to run into Naruto once he got done talking to the Hokage.

Naruto stood before Tsunade, waiting to see what she wanted. When she didn't say anything for a few moments, he started to get frustrated. "Okay, what do you want, Granny Tsunade?" he asked.

Tsunade's facial tic activated a moment, then subsided. "All right, Naruto, I'm going to make something very clear to you," she said. Naruto gave her a curious look. She continued, "Hinata likes you, Naruto. She has for a long time. She's a sweet, kind girl, and honestly I don't know what she sees in you." Naruto looked like he was going to attack her at that. She held up a hand to stall him and continued, "That's not the point, Naruto. The point is, quite simply, if you hurt that girl, I will personally hunt you down and see to it you die the most painful death imaginable, got me?"

Naruto gasped, then swallowed. "All right, Granny Tsunade, you made your point. I won't hurt her. I don't know how you think I could hurt her anyway, but I won't, you have my word."

"Good, Naruto, good. But seriously, do yourself a favor and get to know Hinata. Give her a chance. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised," Tsunade said, grinning.

Naruto flashed her a true smile, at which Tsunade felt her heart flutter. She thought, "_I guess this is what Hinata sees in him. Good for you, Hinata."_ as Naruto told her, "All right, I'll get to know her. I already know how kind she is, and I hope you're right about the rest. Well, I have training to get to, so I'll see you later, Granny Tsunade!" Having said that, Naruto laughed and ran out of her office, leaving Tsunade with rage flashing in her eyes, even as she was smiling in spite of herself. Tsunade chuckled to herself, thinking, "_Naruto, you deserve a girl like Hinata. And Hinata deserves you, as I think you'll see. Be good to her, make her happy."_

Naruto left Tsunade's office, thinking about what he had been told. His thoughts kept coming back to Hinata, and he decided to see if he could find her.

As Hinata was walking through the village, more or less at random, she suddenly thought she heard someone call out to her. She stopped and turned to look, but didn't see anyone. She had just turned a corner, and she guessed she was hearing things. Moments later, she heard "HINATA!" and this time she knew she wasn't imagining it. She turned and there, about ten feet from her, was Naruto, hurrying toward her. It was his voice she had heard. She waited until he came up to her, smiling one of his true smiles.

"Yes, N-Naruto?" she said when he was in front of her.

"Hinata, I was hoping I'd find you," he said, smiling one of his true smiles that made the girl's heart melt every time she saw it. She blushed, smiling back. "Granny Tsunade was telling me that I should try to get to know you, what with us being teammates and all now," Naruto said, rubbing the back of his head, a nervous gesture. "So, would you like to do something with me today, so we can talk a while and get to know one another?"

Hinata blushed furiously. He was asking her on a date? Well, not quite, but close enough. She blushed and said, stammering and barely audible, "I-I-I-I'd l-l-l-l-love to, N-N-N-Naruto."

Naruto, with his good hearing, knew what she had said. He smiled and held an arm out to her. Hinata blushed, then took it, linking her arm with his. "All right then. Where would you like to go, Hinata?" Naruto asked her.

"It doesn't matter to me, N-Naruto. Anywhere you want to go is fine," Hinata said, surprised she hadn't stammered more with that. Naruto smiled at her and the two headed off together.

Naruto thought about what he was doing, then remembered his special place. The place he always went to when he wanted to be alone, that is. He nodded; that would be perfect for this. Then he got an idea and gave Hinata a playful grin. "Hey, Hinata, there's a clearing, up on top of the Hokage Mountain, just behind the Fourth's image," he told her. She nodded and felt his arm slip out of hers, much to her disappointment. Naruto continued, "Race you there." Hinata blushed, realizing he was essentially playing with her. She thought about it, then nodded. "Ready, set... GO!" Naruto said. The two shot forward. Naruto held back some; since he knew the quickest way there, he didn't want to get too far ahead of her. In fact, he stayed behind her. When they got to a certain crossroad, Naruto veered off one way and Hinata went another. Naruto kept an eye on the girl, deciding to let her win.

Naruto made it all the way to a spot where he could see the clearing but was well-hidden; he waited a few moments, then Hinata appeared in the clearing. He dropped down and walked into the clearing. He grinned at Hinata. "You win, Hinata," he said, smiling. "I told you you wouldn't hold me back."

Hinata blushed and stammered out, "I-I-I'm s-s-sorry, N-N-Naruto. I didn't mean to-" she started but was cut off.

"No, Hinata, don't be sorry. You didn't do anything wrong. We were racing, and you won, there's nothing wrong with that. This way, I know you weren't holding back. I wouldn't have it any other way," he told her, giving her another of his true smiles. Hinata felt her heart melting all over again.

It took a few minutes for the two of them to catch their breath. Hinata needed it from running all the way there, Naruto didn't really need it, but he acted like he did, so Hinata wouldn't know he had been holding back on her. Once the two of them had calmed down a little from their excitement, Naruto turned to Hinata. "So, Hinata, what do you think of this place?"

She smiled. The clearing was so peaceful and it really was a beautiful spot, idyllic almost. "It's beautiful, Naruto. It's so peaceful and quiet up here," she said, smiling.

"Yeah, I know. I always come up here when I want to be alone and think things through. It's my special place," Naruto told her.

She blushed, realizing he was sharing something very private and secret with her. The two eventually sat down together and just talked, asking one another questions. Naruto told Hinata about growing up alone, hated, ignored, all that. Hinata told Naruto about growing up in the Hyuga clan and how they all despised her, her father calling her weak, and so on. They both talked about the loneliness they shared, both feeling guilty for not being there for the other sooner. After a while, Hinata threw herself at Naruto and hugged him.

"I'm so sorry, Naruto. I never knew how badly you were suffering from being alone. I could have been there for you, but I wasn't brave enough. I failed you, and I'm so sorry," she said, hugging Naruto around his neck. Naruto hugged her back after a moment.

"It's all right, Hinata, I wasn't there for you either. I failed you, too, and I'm sorry, too," he answered. Then he pulled back and looked at her. "Hinata, let's just put the past behind us. We should have been there for one another sooner, but now we are. Let's just promise one another to be there for one another from now on, all right?"

Hinata smiled at him. "Yes, you're right, Naruto. I promise, from now on, you'll never be alone again. I'll always be here for you from now on, I promise you," she said, blushing.

Naruto smiled back, a true, heart-felt smile. "Thank you, Hinata. I promise I'll always be here for you from now on, too. You'll never be lonely again, I promise. And I never take back my words, that is my nindo, my ninja way," he said, grinning. Hinata felt her heart melt and threw herself onto him again, hugging him tight. Naruto just hugged her back and let her cry on his chest; he knew they were tears of joy, for he felt the same ones in his own eyes. So it was that two very lonely young ninja found, in one another, acceptance, friendship, acknowledgment, and the end of their loneliness.

Neither of them knew it, but Tsunade was watching them through the crystal ball she had inherited from the Third Hokage. She saw as the two hugged and cried together and smiled. As the two sat together, she cut off the jutsu and left the two in privacy. She was truly happy for Hinata, who had finally gotten the acknowledgment of her crush, and for Naruto, who had finally found acceptance. She smiled, thinking that, while the two of them had suffered very dark pasts, they now had a very bright future ahead of them.


	2. First Mission

Chapter 2

Naruto was feeling rather pleased today. He was on his way to Training Ground 30 to meet with his new team, but after the very long conversation he'd had with Hinata last night, he felt like this new team would be far better than the old one, no matter what happened with Kiba. He hoped he and Kiba could be friends, but since the fiasco at the Chuunin Exams, he rather doubted it.

Naruto thought of everything that had happened in just 24 hours. His old team was gone, his brother had been declared a traitor (he still wasn't too happy with Tsunade about that one), he had become much better friends with Hinata than he had been before, and he had now concluded that he and Sakura would never be anything more than friends. In retrospect, he realized he should have known that for some time now, but somehow that talk with Hinata yesterday had driven it home for him that he and Sakura just weren't meant to be. Not now, not ever. The really weird thing was, in spite of his expectations, that thought didn't bother him. He just accepted it. He was thinking about all of this and realizing that he actually accepted all of it, even Sasuke's new status. He wasn't happy about it, no, but he accepted it. As he was thinking about this, he arrived at the training ground.

Naruto looked up and found Hinata standing in the middle of the clearing that was Training Ground 30. He had to smile at that. He hadn't thought about it before, but seeing Hinata standing there with the dawn behind her, he could see she really was a very pretty girl. He laughed at himself silently, thinking how he had made Sakura his standard of beauty and blinded himself to what was now in front of him. Granted, Hinata kept her figure hidden beneath her jacket most of the time, but still, there was something about her. He couldn't quite place it, but something about her made him want to just go to her and hug her. He chuckled at his thoughts, which made Hinata turn and see him.

Hinata was surprised to find Naruto so near her. He was only about ten feet away, yet she hadn't been aware of his presence at all. She had been so absorbed in her thoughts that she hadn't noticed that she was no longer alone. She blushed upon seeing her crush staring at her, a pensive look on his face. She had just been thinking of him, of course.

"Good m-morning, N-Naruto," she said, blushing. Naruto gave her a small smile.

"Good morning, Hinata," he answered. "I thought you said the others would be here by now." It was about 9:15 at the moment; he had overslept somewhat. In spite of this, however, neither Kurenai-sensei nor Kiba were in evidence.

Hinata blushed even deeper. She suddenly realized that she had been caught. She had intentionally told Naruto an earlier time than their planned meeting time so she could try to talk to him alone before the team met. "Oh, w-well, see, I... I..." Hinata said, blushing furiously as she was unable to meet his eyes.

Naruto was confused. What was going on? All he did was ask what was going on and here she was blushing like a ripe tomato. He went over to her, lifted her chin so she was looking at him and gave her a reassuring smile. "Remember that talk we had last night, Hinata?" he asked her. She looked confused, but nodded. "Remember how I said not to be afraid with me and to just relax and be yourself?" She nodded again. "Well, do that now. Where are the others?"

Hinata sighed. He was right. He had told her to be herself and relax. It wasn't easy, but for him, she'd do it. "N-Naruto, I told you the wrong time yesterday. We don't meet until 10:00 in the mornings," she said, blushing. Naruto gave her a small smile, then a confused look. She rushed to explain. "It's just that I was h-hoping to b-be able to t-talk to y-you alone a while b-before we met with the t-team."

Naruto gave her a surprised look, then started chuckling. Moments later, he was holding his belly as he laughed loud and hard. Hinata was confused. After Naruto calmed down, he smiled at Hinata. "Do you realize what this means, Hinata?" he asked. She tilted her head to one side, curious. "You pranked me!" he said, grinning at her. "You actually pranked me, Hinata!"

Hinata was stunned. He was right! She had pranked him! Not trying to be mean or anything, but she had actually tricked him! She giggled, a hand in front of her face, smiling shyly and blushing. Naruto laughed with her, not as loud or hard as before, but his joy was evident nonetheless. Naruto was proud of this girl. She had only been his friend for about eighteen hours and yet she had ALREADY pranked him! And he was supposed to be the best prankster in the village. He gave Hinata a true smile, which made her blush even deeper as she felt her heart melt yet again.

Hinata thought about it, then she finally moved her hand and gave Naruto a heart-felt smile. "I wasn't trying t-to b-be m-mean or anything, N-Naruto," she said, looking slightly worried.

"No, I know that, Hinata," Naruto said, still smiling. "I'm not mad or hurt or anything. I think it's funny that you, the shyest girl in the whole village, pranked me, the best prankster in the village, that's all." He smiled brightly, making his new friend blush deeply.

The two sat down by one of the training posts and talked softly, picking up their conversation from the night before almost seamlessly. Naruto told Hinata about how he'd found the clearing he took her to the day before, how he'd gotten closer to his old team, and how he was feeling about Tsunade's declaration about Sasuke the day before.

Hinata comforted him about Sasuke, told him about how things had been with Neji throughout her life, before his father died, after that, and then after Naruto beat him in the Chunin Exams, and spoke of her father and his rejection of her more. Naruto smiled softly, thinking that he had actually made a difference for his friend as she spoke of Neji, then glared slightly as she spoke of her father.

Naruto turned to Hinata. "I'll help you, Hinata. I can tell you crave your father's acceptance, and I promise you here and now, I'll help you get it," he said, giving her a determined look. Hinata knew that look. It was the same look he'd had on his face when he was fighting Kiba during the preliminaries. She couldn't help smiling.

"Thank y-you, N-Naruto," she said, blushing a little. The two friends hugged, then jumped back from one another, blushing furiously, as they heard a small chuckle coming from nearby.

"Good morning, you two," Kurenai greeted them. "It seems like you two are hitting it off really well. I'm glad." The two blushing youngsters nodded, their eyes looking at everything but their sensei and each other.

As the three were standing there, Naruto and Hinata feeling awkward and Kurenai chuckling, Kiba joined them. He saw Naruto and Hinata blushing and Kurenai laughing and wondered what was up, but he didn't question it. He just shrugged and joined his teammates, waiting to see what their mission or training for the day would be.

"So, what's up, team?" Kiba asked, his typical grin on his face.

Kurenai smiled softly at Kiba. "Good, now we're all here," she said. "We can get down to our mission for today."

Naruto and Hinata came to attention, both of them finally losing their blushes, and Kiba grinned. "So, what's on the menu for today?" Naruto asked, becoming slightly excited to work with his new team.

Kurenai grinned and pulled out a scroll. "This scroll is our mission. Guys, this is a C-rank mission, we're to deliver this scroll to the Hidden Sand Village, specifically to a Suna Jonin named Baki," she said, smiling.

Naruto whooped. "I'll get to see Gaara! YES!" he yelled, jumping up and down a bit in excitement. He was glad to get to see his friend again; it had been a while, and he wanted to see if he was doing better.

Hinata giggled. She was still not quite used to the idea of being on a team with Naruto. Kiba rolled his eyes, but even he couldn't quite suppress a grin at Naruto's excitement. Kurenai just chuckled at her team.

"All right team, go get yourselves ready. Pack for two weeks, just in case. We leave in one hour, meet at the main gate of the village. Dismissed!" Kurenai told them. She then disappeared in a puff of smoke; the new Team 8 found themselves alone.

Kiba nodded. "See you guys in an hour then," he said and took off.

Naruto turned to Hinata, grinning. "Hey, I'll meet you right here in ten minutes, okay? I need to head home and grab my pack; it's always ready for this kind of thing. Ten minutes long enough for you?" he asked.

Hinata thought about it; she had a week's worth of supplies already packed; she'd just have to add a couple things to it. She nodded. "All r-right, N-Naruto," she said. "I'll see you in ten minutes." As she raced for her home, she wondered what Naruto was up to, but she wasn't about to miss out on it, whatever it was.

Naruto chuckled at how eagerly she'd taken off, realizing for the first time that what Tsunade had told him was most likely true; Hinata probably DID like him. He made his way home, moving rather more slowly than Hinata had; he grabbed his pack and headed back, arriving back where they'd been five minutes after he left. He was surprised to find Hinata already there waiting for him.

Hinata smiled as he approached, blushing as she saw the look of admiration in his eyes. She could tell she'd impressed him by being there so fast. She smiled shyly, wondering what he was thinking about. If she'd known, she would likely have fainted.

Naruto was looking Hinata up and down as he approached her. Her pack being on her back was causing her normally baggy jacket to hug her figure rather snugly, and Naruto could see every curve of her body. _"Wow, Hinata's really got a hell of a body. Wonder why she always hides it beneath that baggy jacket of hers,"_ Naruto thought. Then he scolded himself for being perverted and simply smiled at Hinata, who blushed deeper still.

"So, N-Naruto, what d-did y-you w-want to s-see m-me f-for?" Hinata asked, stammering more than normal since his smile and rapt attention being aimed at her was making her feel light-headed.

Naruto chuckled; now he was sure of it, Tsunade had been telling him the truth. "Do I need a reason to want to see you?" Naruto asked back, teasingly.

Hinata blushed at his teasing, then stammered, "I s-suppose n-not."

Naruto looked at her, a little surprised that she'd seemingly taken him seriously. "Okay, Hinata, I was kidding. But seriously, I told you before I want to get to know you better. I figured this would be as good a time as any, since we probably won't have a lot of time alone during the mission," he said, smiling at her.

Hinata gasped. _"He wants to spend time alone with me! Don't faint, don't faint, DON'T FAINT!" _she thought to herself. "Oh, o-okay, N-N-Naruto," she stammered out.

Naruto chuckled, thinking this was just one more piece of evidence to support that she liked him. His smiled widened a little, though Hinata didn't seem to notice this. "Come on, Hinata," he said. "I want to introduce you to Teuchi."

Hinata blushed slightly, surprised Naruto would want to introduce her to someone, but she smiled and nodded. Moments later, the two were at Ichiraku's. The two sat on stools next to one another, Hinata blushing furiously at being so close to Naruto, Naruto smiling at actually having company here for once.

Teuchi turned and found his favorite customer sitting there, grinning at him. "Naruto! Been a while since I saw you in here. How are you? And who's this with you?" he asked, smiling at the blond.

Naruto grinned back. "Yeah, hey old man, I know it's been a while. This is Hinata, she's on my new team," he said.

Hinata smiled and bowed slightly, as well as she could while sitting. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Teuchi," she said, remembering the name Naruto had used for the man before.

Teuchi smiled at the indigo-haired girl. "No need for bowing, young lady," he said, smiling. "Any friend of Naruto's is a friend of ours. Isn't that right, Ayame?"

Ayame, the dark-haired girl beside Teuchi, grinned at Hinata. "Absolutely. It's our pleasure to meet you, Hinata," she said, noticing how Hinata was blushing and watching Naruto. She came over and whispered to Hinata, leaning over the counter, "He might be clueless, but he's got a good heart. He'll come around soon enough." She stood back up and winked conspiratorially at Hinata, who blushed deeper.

"So, what will you two have?" Teuchi asked then, still grinning.

"I'll have two miso, please," Naruto said. "What about you, Hinata?"

"I'll try the same, please," she said.

Teuchi grinned at the two. "Four miso then? All right, coming right up," he said, then turned and concentrated on making their meal for them.

Meanwhile, Somewhere in the Land of Rice Paddies

Orochimaru grinned at his underling. He had just delivered a message from the spy he had hidden deep in Konoha. This spy was so deep he was privy to almost everything that was going on in Konoha, even those things only the Hokage's closest advisers knew. The information just now delivered to him was one such tidbit.

"Well, it would seem that Suna and Konoha are trying to cement their little arrangement and keep this accursed peace," the Snake Sannin hissed, his eyes flashing with excitement. "And I must admit, this is a good ploy for it."

He re-read the scroll he had been delivered, noticing that the spy asked nothing and requested no instruction. This meant he had not been discovered and that no one was aware he was passing information like this. In that case, he wouldn't need to respond to this message, just act on the information contained in it.

"Send in Sasuke," he hissed. Moments later, Sasuke Uchiha entered the room, his black eyes glaring at Orochimaru.

"You sent for me?" he asked, his voice harsh, cold, his eyes filled with hate. Orochimaru grinned, loving the look of his newest disciple.

"I did, Sasuke," he told the boy. "I have an assignment for you."

"Oh? And what would you have me do, Lord Orochimaru?" Sasuke asked, hating the sound of the title. Orochimaru insisted all his minions use it, including, now, Sasuke, but the onyx-eyed boy hated it, even the Snake Sannin knew that. But he insisted on it, so Sasuke continued to say it, even if the supposedly respectful title was filled with loathing every time.

"Your former village has sent out a small entourage, headed for Suna. I suspect they will return with a rather larger group than the one that has left Konoha. During their return trip, I want you to ambush them and take out as many of them as you can," Orochimaru said, his eyes flashing with excitement. "And when you return, I will have a new jutsu or two to teach you." He added this last part to quell any rebellion Sasuke might be feeling. It worked.

"Yes, Lord Orochimaru," Sasuke said, his eyes flashing with some excitement at the prospect of learning a new jutsu. He bowed, another formality Orochimaru insisted be followed, then rose and left to prepare. He knew he could take anyone with him from the fortress he so chose, but in this case, he decided to go alone, half-hoping, half-afraid he'd meet up with Naruto.

Back in Konoha

Naruto and Hinata rose, both satisfied with their meal. Hinata was enjoying herself immensely, but she was also curious about one thing. She decided to feel Naruto out about it.

"This was a great date, Naruto," she said, blushing slightly.

Naruto was a little surprised, but he couldn't quite deny it: it had felt like a date. "Yeah, it was, wasn't it?" he said back, smiling at her.

Hinata blushed even deeper, realizing he thought of it as a date, too. "Well, we b-better g-get g-going; don't want t-to b-be l-late," she said.

Naruto grinned, knowing he'd made her nervous. "Hey, relax, I'm having a great time with you, Hinata, calling it a date doesn't change that," he said, smiling his true smile at her.

Hinata blushed but smiled, pleased with the situation. The two walked off together and arrived at the village's gate minutes later, both of them arriving at the same time as Kurenai and Kiba.

"All right, team, let's move out," Kurenai said, grinning at how close Naruto and Hinata were to one another as they walked. Moments later, the team was out of the village, officially on their first mission as a newly-formed team. None of them had any idea the dangers that awaited them on this mission, nor the opportunities that would present themselves.


	3. Trip to Sand

Chapter 3

Evening was approaching as Team Kurenai crested one of many hills in the woods of the Land of Fire. Naruto ran up a tree and looked around; he'd done this on several hills. He'd never really had time to just relax and enjoy the scenery on a mission before, and he was taking advantage of it. He'd taken Hinata up a couple times, but when he discovered she wasn't comfortable being that high up, he'd stopped taking her, simply leaving the invitation open to come with him if she so chose. He smiled at the view, the feeling of the breeze up there, and the sheer elation he felt at being so high up and so free. He saw something moving in the distance, something black, but he just ignored it, telling himself it was nothing important. In a different direction, he could see the forest ending and the desert beginning not far after.

Rejoining his new team, Naruto gave Hinata a grin; Hinata blushed, but returned it. Naruto had been doing this almost since they left. He'd go off a short way on his own, do something, then come back and give her a grin like they were sharing a secret or something. Hinata wished she knew what he was doing. Sometimes it was up a tree, others it was just moving a short distance off the trail they were following. She'd considered trying to see what he was doing with her Byakugan, but decided against it. Whatever he was doing, it didn't seem to be causing trouble, and he always came back with that same grin, so she figured it was something good. Now that he was back, the team continued on their trip.

Kiba had been wondering what Naruto was doing on his little side-trips, too, and he, unlike Hinata, wasn't just going to let it pass. "Okay, Naruto, that's like the twentieth time you've done that. I know you're up to something, so spill it, what are you doing?" he said.

Naruto turned to Kiba and grinned. "Nothing really. I just haven't had a chance to enjoy the scenery like this on a mission before, and some of these views are to die for!" Naruto answered. "If you want, you can always come with me, I'm not stopping you." Naruto said this last part while giving Kiba a look telling him to drop it for now.

"I may have to do that," Kiba said, deciding to give Naruto the benefit of the doubt for the moment. A short time later, he took Naruto up on the offer of following him; Kiba really was curious to see just what Naruto was doing.

Naruto ran a short distance off the trail, stopped, bent down, plucked a flower, then kept walking. He got out of Kiba's sight for just a minute and came back without the flower. By now, Kiba was really confused. Naruto noticed Kiba was looking at him like he was a new species or something. "What's up, Kiba?"

"That's what I was going to ask you. What's with the flower? And where did it go?" he replied, his voice betraying his bewilderment.

Naruto grinned. "I've been doing that this whole time," he said, then pulled out a scroll. "They're all in here. I'm saving them for Hinata."

Kiba grinned back, his canines showing a bit. "Oh, so you did notice her huh?" he said.

"Yeah I finally noticed her. I always thought she was just weird, I guess. But..." Naruto hesitated to tell Kiba this, both wondering why Kiba was so interested and distrusting him somewhat; after all, they weren't exactly best friends. "I had it pointed out to me that she likes me. I heard she likes pressing flowers, so I decided to get her some that weren't near the village," Naruto finished, deciding to take a chance and trust Kiba.

Kiba thought a moment, then turned serious eyes on Naruto. "Oh, I see, so now you know she likes you, what are you intending to do?" he said.

"Get to know her, of course," Naruto answered, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "I was heavily advised to get to know her, so that's what I'm going to do. This...well, I'm just trying to make it up to her for not noticing her sooner." Kiba looked doubtful, but he seemed to accept it.

"All right, well, don't wander too far off," he said, then turned and headed back to Hinata and Kurenai.

Meanwhile, unbeknownst to the two rivals, Hinata and Kurenai were talking while they set up camp. They had set up the two tents and started a small fire, all they'd need for the night, really, and were waiting for the two boys to return. Kurenai gave Hinata a small smile.

"Hey, Hinata?" she said. Hinata looked to her big sister figure with a shy smile on her face. Kurenai came closer to Hinata, her crimson eyes sparkling with mischief. She poked the shy girl softly in the side as she spoke. "I bet I know someone who's excited about being out on a mission with a certain blond knucklehead ninja."

Hinata gasped and blushed deeply. "K-K-Kurenai-s-sensei!" she stammered. Her teacher had never once given indication she knew about her feelings for Naruto, and now this! "You knew?"

Kurenai chuckled softly. "Of course I knew, Hinata. I doubt there's anything about you I don't know. I did see you give him that cream of yours after he fought Kiba, after all," she told her student, whose blush grew much deeper as she remembered the mentioned event. "I figured you had a crush then," she continued, poking her side again. Hinata tried to shy away, but deep down, she was enjoying this. "And I've watched you since, and I daresay it's more than that now, isn't it?"

Hinata blushed, but she couldn't deny it, so she nodded. "Y-Yes, it is," she said. "I-I l-love him."

Kurenai smiled. "I thought as much," she said, then settled herself in next to Hinata and made herself comfortable. "So, tell me what happened." Hinata looked at her sensei in confusion. "To make your feelings change, silly," Kurenai clarified. Hinata thought a moment, then nodded as she thought back to that day...

Flashback

_Hinata was waiting for Kiba so they could go to the Finals together. He'd told her he'd meet her at these stumps. Granted, she probably would have come here anyway, since this is where Naruto had become a Genin, but still, she was here waiting for her teammate. She was lost in her thoughts of Naruto, his past, and his coming match with Neji, so she didn't notice at first that she wasn't alone._

"_Hinata?" a voice said from behind her. She gasped and spun around to find herself looking at the blond himself! How he had gotten that close to her without her even noticing him was beyond her, but, really, she hadn't been paying that much attention. She'd been lost in her thoughts._

_After a few moments of awkward silence, she decided she had to say something. "Why are you here, Naruto? The final competition starts soon, doesn't it?" she spoke quietly, which allowed her to not stutter for once._

"_I just...it's nothing really," he answered. "This is the place where I became a Genin, so..." he trailed off this time, like he wasn't sure what to say. Hinata looked into his eyes, which he was trying to hide, and gasped. He was afraid!_

_Deciding to not bring it up and embarrass him, she asked, "But, why are you here now?"_

_Naruto looked at Hinata, his eyes full of the fear he was trying so hard to repress. "No real reason, it doesn't matter anyway," he said quickly._

_Hinata knew he was worried, and she worried she had upset him. "Oh," she said. "Guess you're right. Sorry."_

"_Hinata," Naruto said. "Neji...he's a cousin of yours, right?" Hinata nodded, not sure what to say. "So, is he really strong?" Hinata wanted more than anything at that moment to say he wasn't, that Neji was weak, but she couldn't lie to anyone, especially not Naruto. Her face fell. "Great," Naruto muttered, obviously taking that as a yes._

_Hinata felt a sudden jolt at that moment. Naruto was upset, worried, and alone. There was only one person who could help him feel better and be there for him at that moment, and it was _her!_ She moved closer to him and rested a hand on his arm gently. "Naruto, it's all right, there's no reason for you to be so upset about this," she said softly._

_Naruto looked at the shy girl before him, trying to figure out what to tell her. For some reason, he decided to tell her exactly what was bothering him. "Well, Hinata, the thing is, this isn't just a match for me," he said. "You know how I never go back on my word, right?" She nodded, not sure what that had to do with anything. "Well, if I lose this match, I'll have broken a promise I made. I'm not used to even thinking that might be possible, so I'm really worried about it."_

_Hinata thought about that a moment, then asked, "Why would you promise to beat Neji, Naruto? And to whom?"_

_Naruto sighed. He'd hoped she wouldn't ask that. "I made the promise to you, Hinata," he said. "And not just a promise, when he hurt you so bad, I vowed on your blood to win, to beat him for you."_

_Hinata gasped. He'd vowed, on her blood, to beat Neji, for _her!_ Why would he do that? "Naruto, it's all right, I promise, I won't hold it against you if you don't win, so please, don't worry about me," she said. Naruto looked at her in surprise. "I'm just glad to have you as a friend, Naruto, nothing else matters to me about you. I know you always try your hardest and do your best, so even when you mess up, I know you use your mistakes to make yourself better. That's what makes you so strong, Naruto, and that's why I'm not worried about whether you win or lose." She watched as Naruto's eyes slowly lost their fear and became more confident. He finally smiled, and this time it was a true smile, not one of the fake ones he used to mask his pain. She felt her heart flutter._

"_Wow, thanks, Hinata," he said. "I needed to hear that. You know, I always thought you were kind of weird, timid, scared or something, but you're really cool. I like people like you, Hinata. I'll see you after the Exams are over, all right?"_

_Hinata's heart was bursting with joy. He liked her, he wanted to see her again! She didn't hear anything else he said as he ran off, she was too happy to have heard that. Plus, she'd seen today that Naruto was much more than she'd ever believed. She might have had a crush on him before, but now she knew, deep down in her heart she knew, she loved him._

End Flashback

Hinata, her story finished, looked up into her sensei's crimson eyes and smiled. "Of course, after that, the Sand and Sound invaded, so I didn't see him again until we went to look for the Bikochu, but I knew after that that I loved him, and it hasn't changed at all, only grown deeper," she said, blushing lightly.

Kurenai put an arm around Hinata and smiled at her student. "I'm happy for you, Hinata," she said. Hinata smiled. "I saw you two talking the other day when we first met as a team. What was that about?"

Hinata blushed a little, then explained how the two had talked both the day of Tsunade's announcements and the following morning and how they had gotten along so well. "You know, Kurenai-sensei," she said. "I think I may actually have a chance with him after all. I'd given up on that ever happening, but now, he seems to be finally noticing me, not just as a friend, but as a girl, you know?" Kurenai smiled and nodded. She knew exactly what Hinata meant. "Well, anyway, you won't say anything to him about this, will you?" Hinata asked.

Kurenai smiled again. "No, Hinata, your secret is safe with me," she said. Hinata hugged her sensei tightly at that moment. Kurenai returned it. The two had just separated when Kiba returned to them, a goofy grin on his face.

"Hey, you two," he said. "You look like you had a fun time while I was off tracking Naruto." He said this last with a wink at Hinata to let her know he wasn't trying to hurt her crush.

Kurenai gave Kiba a glare, but she was smiling. "We had a nice talk," she said. "And I hope you were civil with Naruto, he is a part of our team now."

Kiba nodded. "Yeah, I was nice, I just wanted to see what he was up to out there. My curiosity got the best of me, I guess," he said, his grin never wavering for even a second.

Hinata knew exactly what he meant. She'd been wondering herself what the blond was doing out there, but the times she had followed him he hadn't done anything except what he said he was doing, looking at the views, so she'd stopped following him. She would have asked Kiba what he was doing, but it was at that moment that Naruto rejoined them. Hinata folded her arms over her chest and pouted.

Naruto, noticing Hinata's pout, and figuring he knew what caused it, came over to the girl and grinned. "Hey, Hinata, what's up?" he said. "As cute as you are when you're pouting, I'm sure you'd be prettier if you were smiling." Hinata, shocked that he'd say that at all, never mind in front of her sensei and teammate, dropped her arms and blushed deeply. Naruto, now that he knew the cause of Hinata's blushing, was beginning to find it extremely cute and just chuckled.

Kiba was surprised by the blond's reaction to Hinata's blush, considering he usually asked if she was sick or something, but he shrugged it off and told the others he'd find some food for the night. Akamaru barked from atop his head and the two disappeared into the woods. Kurenai also walked off a moment later; she was going to get water from a nearby stream for the rest of their trip to the Sand Village.

The result of this, whether intentional or not, was that Naruto and Hinata found themselves alone. Naruto grinned at the shy girl, who responded with a small smile and a blush. Naruto moved around the fire and sat beside Hinata.

"Having fun out here, Hinata?" he asked her, his voice low.

Hinata blushed deeply, then nodded. "I am, Naruto, and you?" she asked him back. He nodded. "Um, Naruto, what have you been doing off on your own all day?"

Naruto gasped and blushed. He'd been hoping he could get away with hiding this from her until they made it back to the Leaf, but here she was, asking him about it. "W-Well," he began, "I w-was afraid you'd ask me about that." He stopped and began to mutter to himself. "Oh, yeah, that's real smooth Naruto, tell her you were afraid of her asking, very nice." He hit himself on the forehead.

Hinata realized she'd put Naruto on the spot. "I'm sorry, Naruto," she said. "I didn't mean to put you on the spot, it's okay, really. You don't have to tell me." Even so, she couldn't help feeling a little disappointed that he didn't want to tell her.

Naruto smiled at her. "It's not that, Hinata," he said. "It's just I don't want to spoil the surprise, that's all." Hinata looked at him, confused. "What I'm doing, I'm doing for you," he clarified.

Hinata blushed. _"He's doing it for me? I don't know what 'it' is, but he's doing something for me?" _she thought to herself. _"Wow, he's so amazing, and here he is doing something to surprise me!"_ With that, the girl's blush intensified ten-fold, and then she did what she always did when under extreme stress (pleasant stress in this case, but stress nonetheless), she fainted.

Naruto chuckled, then got up and gently lifted Hinata into his arms. Now that he knew why Hinata fainted like this, it was actually kind of adorable. He was surprised at how light she was. He looked into her face and got another surprise. He saw just how pretty she was; he had to admit, if only to himself, that she was far prettier than Sakura. He carried her into the tent she and Kurenai would share, gently tucked her into her sleeping bag, and stepped back out, smiling gently at her as he did.

Kurenai returned to the camp just in time to see Naruto stepping out of her and Hinata's tent. "And just what are you doing in there, Naruto?" she said.

Naruto, surprised at her voice, jumped and turned to her. "Oh, Kurenai-sensei, I was talking to Hinata and she fainted, so I was just tucking her into her sleeping bag so she'd be more comfortable," he said. Kurenai nodded; she had no reason to believe Naruto would lie.

"All right, well, we better all turn in soon anyway," she said, stretching a bit herself. Naruto nodded and smiled; he was glad she trusted him. Kiba returned shortly after that carrying two rabbits he and Akamaru had caught, and the three conscious shinobi ate a light dinner, leaving some of the meat for Hinata for the next morning. Then all three retired to their tents and were asleep within minutes.

When Hinata awoke, she felt well-rested. She saw Kurenai sleeping next to her and smiled. Then her stomach growled, so she softly crept from the tent to see about finding something to eat. She found the rabbit her teammates had saved for her laying by the fire; they had left it there so it would stay warm. The fire itself had almost burned itself out by now, but the rabbit was still warm, so she dug into it. With no one watching to scold her, she ate with vigor and was done within minutes. Checking the moon, she realized it must have been around three in the morning.

Being awake and energized, Hinata rose from where she ate and made her way toward the stream where Kurenai had collected water the previous evening. She washed up from her meal—the rabbit was greasy—then smiled at the peaceful spot she was in. She realized she probably had two to three hours before anyone would be waking up, so she stripped down to just her bra and panties. She loved training like this, and it had been a while since she did so. She stepped onto the water and began to practice her kata. Within moments, she was totally lost in the movements and in the movements of the water around her. She always felt so free like this, almost like she was dancing.

Naruto awoke suddenly, a cold sweat covering his face. He shivered; what a horrible nightmare! He got up and slowly crawled from his tent, careful not to wake Kiba. He looked up; based on where the moon was, it must have been around three-thirty. Remembering the nearby stream, he began to make his way there, thinking a drink and a cool dip would feel wonderful just now. Since he had been sleeping, he was in just his boxers, but he didn't bother dressing; after all, the rest of his team would be asleep another hour and a half at the very least. As he walked, he was remembering the dream that had awakened him; it wasn't pretty, to say the least. He shivered. Just then he heard the sound of running water and realized he was merely twenty feet from the stream. He could see the small stream clearly, its water flowing softly through the night.

Not thinking, Naruto ran forward and dived into the water, going as deep as he could. While under water, he opened his mouth and drank as deeply as he could of the cool, clear water. He began to swim upstream a ways, feeling very thankful that he had quite the lung capacity. After swimming upstream almost two minutes and covering probably three hundred feet, he surfaced silently and breathed quietly, not wanting to break the peace of this idyllic stream. He looked up and was suddenly glad he'd been quiet. Standing on the water, about twenty feet from him, and completely unaware of his presence, was _her!_

Ever since he had gone with Team 8 to look for the Bikochu, he had dreamed of the girl he had seen that night at the waterfall. He had started to wonder whether she was even real or not, but here she was again! Staring at the girl, Naruto couldn't help remembering that night.

Flashback

_He had been awakened by nature's call. He went out and took care of business, only to hear water running nearby. Curious, he went to investigate. Sure enough, not far from camp, he found a stream at the bottom of a waterfall. There, standing on the water and seemingly dancing, the water mimicking her moves, was the single most beautiful girl Naruto had ever seen. Mesmerized, Naruto slowly walked toward her, trying to get a better view and to find out who this girl was. Unfortunately, he slipped on a rock and fell into the water. Looking up, he tried to speak to her, but he was surprised to find she was gone._

Flashback End

Naruto remembered telling Kiba about it and him saying it was just a dream, but here was the proof it wasn't. She was right here in front of him again! Quietly, he moved closer to her, not wanting her to get away this time without him at least being able to find out who it was.

Hinata was still practicing, never noticing she had an audience. She was practicing her Protective 8-Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms when suddenly two hands gripped her feet. She gasped and was about to kick the person who had grabbed her, but she didn't get the chance; her attacker pulled her into the water. She was left with just her head above water when her feet were released; she began to tread water. Then she was suddenly grabbed from behind, someone throwing their arms around her waist. She felt a head moving up next to hers and then she heard it.

"All right, I've got you now, you're not getting away this time," Naruto whispered. "Now, who are you?" It wasn't meant to be so, but, to Hinata, his voice, the way he spoke, the water, everything was very sensual and erotic.

Blushing heavily, Hinata turned just a little and answered in a whisper as well. "It's me, Naruto," she said.

"H-H-Hinata?" Naruto asked, shocked. "It was you I saw at that waterfall?" In his shock, he had let her go and backed away. Hinata turned and looked at him, her face bright red from what had happened.

"Y-Yes, Naruto, it w-was m-me you s-saw that night," she said.

Naruto thought about that, trying to assimilate this new information into what he already knew of Hinata. "So that's why you were blushing so red when I told Kiba about it, huh?" he asked. Hinata blushed and nodded. "I'm sorry I embarrassed you, Hinata."

"It's all right, Naruto," she said back. "You didn't know."

"Yeah, I know, but I still feel bad. Forgive me?"

Hinata giggled a little at how pathetic his voice sounded just then. "Forgive you for what, Naruto? For complimenting me? I hope you don't mean to take that back now that you realize it was me all along."

Naruto blushed this time. "No, not at all. I just mean forgive me for embarrassing you," he said. "I meant every word I said, Hinata, you are beautiful, I'm just sorry I never realized it before."

Hinata blushed, but then she did something no one, herself included, would have expected of her. She moved closer to Naruto and wrapped her arms around him, blushing when she realized he was shirtless. "Kiss me, Naruto," she whispered seductively. Naruto blushed, then nodded. The two slowly moved toward one another. Naruto put his arms around Hinata gently, snaking his hands up to her neck and playing with her hair. Hinata's arms, seemingly moving of their own accord, did the same and she ran her fingers through his hair. _"Liquid gold,"_ Hinata thought. Her heart was pounding, her breathing erratic, as Naruto slowly got closer. She could feel his breath on her lips. She slowly closed her eyes and saw as he did the same. It may have been five seconds since she spoke, but to both of them, it felt more like almost an hour. When their lips touched for the first time, both of them were transported to a level of heaven both had thought they would never achieve. Hinata was in shock that she was actually _kissing_ Naruto. Naruto was satisfied with what was going on. True, he was sharing his first real kiss with Hinata, but in his eyes, she was now prettier than Sakura had ever been. When that was added to the fact that he knew Hinata was by far the nicest girl from their class, Naruto found himself quite satisfied with the current situation. The two held the kiss as long as they could, only separating when their bodies demanded they breathe.

Naruto still held Hinata in his arms after their kiss. He gently ran his hands up and down her arms, legs, and back, his touch reverent, chaste. Hinata blushed and smiled at his touch. She had never been happier. She thought this moment couldn't get any better, but then it did. "Hinata?" Naruto said quietly, not wanting to break the moment with talk. She smiled at him and nodded. "Will you be my girlfriend?" Hinata gasped at the question, then pulled Naruto to her tightly and kissed him this time, hard. She pulled back after a few moments and smiled at him. Naruto smiled and chuckled. "I'll take that as a yes." Hinata nodded vigorously. Naruto kissed her once more, gently, briefly, then the two moved to the shore and sat together.

Suddenly, Hinata had a thought. "Naruto?" she said. He turned to his new girlfriend and smiled. "What were you doing out here? I mean, I'm glad this happened, but what brought you out here so late at night?"

Naruto's face turned a little pale as he remembered what had woken him up. That damn dream! "I w-was having a nightmare," he said. Hinata took one of his hands in hers and stroked it softly. For some reason, this comforted Naruto. He smiled at her. For some reason, he decided to tell Hinata about the dream, all of it, as horrible as it always was. He thought maybe telling her would make it less terrible. "It's a dream I have a lot. Would you mind if I tell you?"

Hinata blushed. "I would be honored, Naruto," she said and smiled softly at him. She held his hand in both of hers now, letting him know she was there for him. Naruto smiled at her, thought a moment, closed his eyes, and began his tale.

"In my dream, I'm running, I'm never quite sure what I'm running from at first, but I'm running," he said, his voice slipping into an eerie monotone. Hinata tensed as he spoke. "All I know is there's something after me, and if it catches me, it's going to do something terrible. I'm never sure what, exactly, it intends to do, but I feel sure that it intends to do something horrible. I just get this vague dread, it tells me that if I don't stay away from this...thing coming after me, my friends, the village, and I are all doomed."

Hinata felt like she was on pins and needles by now. Naruto continued, "I keep running, my legs burning, my lungs heaving, my whole body feeling like it's on fire. I run and run, and eventually, every time, I trip on something. When I look to see what I tripped on, there's nothing there, but I can't get up, I'm too tired. Then I feel it approach and know it's going to take me to do whatever it is it's going to do. I scream, something lands on my chest, I can't breathe. I try to close my eyes so I don't have to see the horrible thing, but I can't, it's like my eyes are being held open, and then I see it. I see horrible greenish-yellow eyes, snake-like slits in them. I scream again, I feel it start to crush me, and that's usually when I wake up. This time, though, just before I woke up, I saw the snake-like eyes turn into the Sharingan and the face around them turned into Sasuke for just an instant before I awoke."

Naruto opened his eyes and looked at Hinata, who simply wrapped her arms around him and hummed soothingly to him. Naruto wrapped her in his arms; somehow she ended up sitting on his lap, which made Naruto feel extremely protective of his new girlfriend. He smiled down at her, deciding to file away his feelings of protectiveness for later. He held her tenderly and buried his face in her shoulder, letting the memory of his dream fade and fighting off the shivers that took his body every few moments.

Hinata, in spite of the deep blush she was sporting due to the extreme proximity of the boy she loved, had never been happier. She ran her fingers through his hair as she held him close and hummed comfortingly to help him forget his nightmare and only remember her. She felt his body tremble and responded by holding him tighter, humming and rocking him as best she could from her position on his lap. She could feel, in that moment, how strong and yet how fragile Naruto was. His arms around her showed her his strength, while his trembling and occasional sobs showed her his frailty. She held him, all the while contemplating the dichotomy her new boyfriend represented. His strength was tempered by frailty and vulnerability. His sadness and pain were masked by happy smiles. She shivered at that thought. _"I promise, Naruto, I'll always be here for you, you won't have to mask your pain anymore, you can show me all of you, and I will accept it,"_ she thought to herself. She wrapped him tighter in her arms and smiled when her action seemed to calm him.

Naruto was reliving his dream in his mind over and over. He kept wondering if his dream was some kind of warning that Sasuke would hurt him, but he shook that off. Just when he was about to sink further into his thoughts, he was pulled back to where he was by Hinata grasping him tighter. He relaxed in her arms; for some reason, he felt safe, protected, in her arms, even while his own instincts were to protect her. He lifted his head from her shoulder and smiled at her. "Thank you, Hinata," he said softly.

Hinata blushed deeply; she could hear the sincerity in his voice. She hugged him again, then sat up in his lap and smiled. "I'm just glad I can be here for you, Naruto," she told him. Naruto smiled at her, then the two wrapped one another into another hug, this one more tender and loving than passionate. Naruto laid back, Hinata following him. The two laid there on the shore of the stream, simply reveling in the feeling of being together, safe, and protected. Naruto in particular reveled in how right this felt, how complete he felt with Hinata in his arms like that. The two smiled peacefully as they each felt that there was nowhere else they'd rather be at that moment.

All too soon for either of their liking, Naruto and Hinata discovered the dawn was approaching. They rose slowly to return to camp. Naruto took Hinata's hand in his gently, causing the shy girl to blush and smile, and the two began their trek back. Shortly before arriving back, they separated. Neither wanted their teammates to know they were a couple just yet.

xxxxxx

Sasuke grinned as he looked around the small clearing. This was perfect. Considering the size of the group he'd been told to expect would be leaving the Sand Village, and the top speed they would likely be able to maintain as a result, he figured they would stop here to rest for a night at least. He checked his traps again, then nodded. They were ready. Now all he had left to do was wait. In another day or two, he'd have done what he came here to do.

xxxxxx

Gaara was laying in his bed, wishing he could sleep, but knowing he couldn't. He sighed and rose to begin his daily routine. He showered, dressed, then picked up his gourd and left his rooms. Taking a semi-secret passage only he and his siblings knew of, he made his way to the roof of his family home. He looked out over the village he had grown to want to protect and be precious to and smiled. It wasn't his old demented murderous smile, it was a true, heart-felt smile. He remembered, for the thousandth time, Naruto yelling to Neji that he would be Hokage and protect and change his village. Gaara chuckled at the thought of his friend, as he had grown to consider Naruto, and thought of his own dream now to be Kazekage. He smiled and nodded to himself. Yes, he would be Kazekage someday and make his friend proud of him. Gaara had no way to know he would have a chance at his dream much sooner than he thought. Suddenly, Gaara saw something entering the gates of his village. Generally, he would have ignored this, but this particular thing was orange with a splash of yellow on top of it. That just had to be Naruto! Gaara grinned and began to make his way toward the gate to meet his friend.

xxxxxx

Naruto grinned and looked around the Sand Village excitedly. Now all he had to do was find Gaara. He knew they were there on a mission, but, at that moment, he didn't care. He just wanted to see his fellow jinchuuriki. He was about to go running into the village or even create clones to look for the red-haired boy when he saw him coming straight for him.

"Gaara!" he yelled. Gaara looked up and smiled at Naruto as the blond ran over to him. "Hey, hold on one sec," Naruto said once he made it to Gaara. "Hey, Kurenai-sensei, will you guys be okay to deliver the scroll so I can catch up with Gaara a little bit?"

Kurenai smiled. "Tell you what, Naruto, why don't you take Hinata with you? Kiba and I can handle this, and we'll meet you at the hotel later," she said. "We're staying at The Four Winds hotel."

Naruto noticed Gaara shiver and turned toward the redhead, eyes questioning. Gaara turned to the team. "That's a pretty low-class hotel, tell you what, why don't you all stay with my family and me while you're here?" Kurenai hesitated a moment. "Let me put it this way," Gaara continued, "it's called The Four Winds because there's no way to keep any of them out of the rooms."

Kurenai shuddered at that thought. "All right, then, Gaara, we'll take you up on your offer, thank you for your hospitality," she said politely. "In that case, Kiba and I can go deliver this, and we'll see you three at Gaara's later. Before you take off, though, Gaara, where can I find Baki?"

Gaara turned to her. "Baki-sensei? Oh, he's up at the Kazekage Tower," he said and pointed at the tallest building in the village. "The top floor is the Kazekage's office; Baki-sensei is filling in until we can choose a new Kazekage."

Kurenai smiled. "I guess that's why it was meant for him," she said. "All right, see you three later." With that, she and Kiba took off to complete their mission, leaving Naruto, Hinata, and Gaara alone.

Naruto turned to Hinata. "You can trust Gaara," he whispered to her. "He might be a bit weird, but he's a good guy, deep down. Just don't let anything he says scare you." She nodded, and Naruto took her hand in his, deciding to trust Gaara with knowing they were together.

Gaara looked at the two. "Hey, Naruto, what's this?" he asked, gesturing at their linked hands.

Naruto grinned. "This is Hinata, my girlfriend," he said proudly. Hinata blushed deeply at his comment, but she nodded when Gaara looked at her questioningly.

"Girlfriend huh?" Gaara asked. They both nodded, smiles on their faces. "So, how's Kyubi?"

Naruto looked at Gaara, horrified he had said that. "Hinata didn't know..." he said softly. He turned to Hinata slowly, terrified he'd see anger, rage, hate, or fear on her face. She just looked back at him, confused.

"What does he mean, Naruto?" she asked him. "Kyubi's dead...isn't it?"

Naruto shuddered in fear. "No, Hinata, Kyubi isn't dead. I know that's what we were all taught, but the truth is, you can't kill the tailed beasts. Gaara here holds Shukaku, the one-tailed sand spirit, in him. I...well, when Kyubi attacked, it was sealed...into me."

Hinata thought about that a moment. It made everything that she'd seen Naruto endure through the years make so much sense, but she also realized the villagers were stupid to treat him like that. She stopped, which made Naruto stop and turn toward her. He looked at her in fear. "Naruto," she spoke softly. "You are a jinchuuriki, right? Both of you are?" Naruto nodded. "The people of these villages...abused you and treated you like garbage because you sacrificed yourselves to save them and protect them. They're idiots, and none of them deserve your sacrifices, much less your desire to protect and serve them." That said, she embraced Naruto hard. Naruto, shocked, slowly responded with a hug of his own. She pulled back and smiled at him, then held out a hand to Gaara. Gaara, confused, simply offered his hand. She shook it. "You two have my respect, and knowing this about you only makes it stronger and deeper. Thank you both."

Naruto smiled at Hinata, his heart feeling like it would explode in joy that she had accepted him. Gaara smiled as well, glad that his friend's girlfriend seemed to want him as a friend as well. The three continued their trek through the village. "So Naruto," Gaara said after a few moments. "You didn't answer my question. How's Kyubi?"

Naruto grinned this time, realizing Gaara asked it again as a sort of joke. "Belligerent as ever," he said back. "And how's Shukaku?" He grinned.

"Insane as ever. I still can't get a good night's sleep because of that stupid tanuki," Gaara answered. The three looked at one another, Naruto and Gaara both surprised at how casually they spoke of their demons, Hinata glad they both trusted her, all three loving how accepted they felt together. Suddenly, all three burst into laughter. It was several minutes before any of them could stand normally, much less walk. Soon, feeling bonded to one another and each feeling fully accepted by the others, the small group made their way back toward Gaara's home.

While Naruto, Hinata, and Gaara wandered the village, Kurenai and Kiba made their way to the Kazekage Tower. It was pretty easy to find, seeing as it was the highest building in the whole village, so they could always see it. They arrived at the tower after walking for about ten minutes and made their way up to the Kazekage's office to find Baki. Once they were let in, they found themselves in the presence of a man who sported visible clan markings on his right cheek and was wearing a short turban of sorts with a loose cloth covering the left half of his face, another strip of cloth framing his face, and his Sand headband, the sum of which was that only his right cheek and eye and the right side of his nose and mouth were visible.

"Lord Baki?" Kurenai asked. She figured that is who this man was, but she hadn't met him before.

"Just Baki, please, I'm no lord," he said back. "But yes, that's me. I see you are ninja of the Hidden Leaf Village. What can we of the Sand do for you?"

Kurenai smiled. "Straight to the point. I like that," she said. She handed the man the scroll. "We are on a mission from our Hokage to deliver this to you, actually."

Baki took the scroll, broke the seal on it, opened it, and read the contents slowly. In spite of his previously cold demeanor, everyone in the room, even Akamaru, could tell the man was getting more and more excited as he read the scroll. It showed in his eye, the small smile that began to curve his mouth, and he was having trouble staying still. Finishing reading, he set the scroll down and did something no one there expected of him: he burst out laughing. At the confused looks on the Leaf ninjas' faces, Baki asked, "Are you aware of the contents of this scroll?" Kurenai and Kiba both shook their heads. Baki handed the scroll back to Kurenai.

Kurenai read the scroll quickly. It spoke of a tournament to be held in the Leaf Village composed entirely of Sand ninja for the purpose of selecting their next Kazekage. The rules for said tournament would be the same as the ones for the Chunin Exam Finals, in other words none. Several dignitaries and so on would be invited to view the tournament along with any Sand ninja or villagers who wished to see it. Specifically requested were any Sand shinobi, active or retired, who would be involved in the selection process. The scroll was a proposition, aimed at Baki, for this to take place. The only Leaf shinobi who would even be aware of this tournament, should it occur, were Team Kurenai as the escorts of the Sand delegation, the Hokage, for obvious reasons and to assist in the selection of the new Kage as requested, and a few ANBU to assist in protecting the tournament contestants as well as the other Sand shinobi and villagers while they resided in the Leaf Village.

Kurenai looked up at the man before her. "And do you intend to accept this, Baki?" she asked him. The man simply nodded, seeing no reason to waste the effort to speak at that moment. Kurenai thought a moment. "In that case, we should be leaving the day after tomorrow, early in the morning, if that's acceptable to you?" At his second nod, she finished, "Well, in that case, if you could direct us to the home of Gaara and his siblings, we would be much obliged. He has offered us lodging for the duration of our stay."

As Kurenai and Kiba were being directed toward Gaara's home, Naruto, Hinata, and Gaara were arriving there. Naruto marveled at the grandiose home, staring at everything and being, for once, careful to not damage anything. Hinata giggled at him, while Gaara just shook his head at his friend and made his way into the home itself to find his siblings and let them know they had guests. He knew Temari would be glad to hear of Shikamaru, even if she'd never admit it, and Kankuro...well, any pretty girl was welcome as far as he was concerned, even if she was taken (Hinata) or way out of his age range and league (Kurenai).

"Temari?" Gaara said as he came into the kitchen, where he often found his sister doing one thing or another. It was her escape from Kankuro, really, as their brother avoided all "domestic" tasks like the plague. "Are you in here?"

Temari looked up from where she was sitting at the table working on some paperwork. "Right here, Gaara," she said back. He turned to her and the two smiled briefly at one another; it was their way of saying they were there for one another and precious to one another. That had started after Gaara fought Naruto, yet another gift he had given them, though they doubted he knew it. "What's up, Gaara?"

"We have guests," he answered. Temari looked shocked, to say the least. "From the Hidden Leaf Village." She perked up at that, as Gaara knew she would. "No, Shikamaru isn't one of them." Gaara had to chuckle as her face fell at that news. "However, Naruto is." In all reality, Gaara was fighting off gales of laughter as he predicted his sister's reactions exactly; she had perked up again at that one, knowing Naruto might be able to give her news of Shikamaru. "He and his girlfriend are in the main hall, the rest of their team should be here soon."

Temari surprised Gaara with her reaction for once: she looked royally pissed at that one! "You mean to tell me that pink-haired banshee said yes to him? She never cared for him, not even once," she said. Gaara couldn't take it anymore at that, he burst into laughter. Temari went from angry to confused.

"I forgot about that, apparently they changed the teams. No, Naruto isn't with Sakura, I believe her name is, the pink-haired banshee as you called her. He's with a raven-haired girl with pale eyes, and I've honestly never seen such sheer adoration as she showers on him with every look, even knowing about his demon," he said, smiling at his sister a little.

Temari thought about that. Raven hair, pale eyes? "Oh, you must mean that little Hyuga girl, Hinata, wasn't it?" she said. Gaara, looking a little surprised, nodded. "I saw her at the Chunin Exams, she was losing her match and then started fighting like one possessed when the blond cheered for her. Good for him, I'm glad he noticed her."

"Anyway," Gaara said, not wanting to get into another weird conversation with his too-observant sister, "why don't you come out and meet her?"

Temari grinned, then got up from her seat and put up her paperwork. "Yeah, that'd be a good break from this; don't worry, this isn't urgent," she said, adding the last part at Gaara's worried look. She stashed the paperwork in a drawer in the kitchen, then followed Gaara out to the entry hall. The two siblings arrived just as Kankuro was coming into the room from upstairs and Kurenai and Kiba, Akamaru on his head, were being let in by Naruto from outside.

Naruto, seeing Temari looking at Hinata, made a gesture to Gaara from himself to Hinata, then a shushing motion. Gaara leaned to Temari and whispered, "Don't mention Naruto and Hinata being together, they don't want their team to know just yet." Temari nodded.

Temari smiled at her guests. "Welcome, all of you," she said. "Naruto, nice to see you again. You must be Hinata." Hinata nodded. Temari turned to Kiba. "And Kiba, right?" He nodded. "I remember hearing about you from the Sasuke fiasco." She noticed that sent a shudder through the four Leaf ninja present, so she dropped that subject. She then turned to Kurenai. "And you are?"

"I'm Kurenai Yuhi," Kurenai answered, a small smile on her face. "As you're obviously aware, these three are Naruto Uzumaki, Hinata Hyuga, and Kiba Inuzuka. They are my team now."

Temari nodded. "All right, Hinata, Kurenai, you two come with me, we'll let these goofy guys have some time to themselves," she said. Within moments, the three kunoichi had disappeared into the kitchen.

Naruto turned to Gaara and Kankuro. "So, Gaara, now what?" he asked.

Gaara, who seemed to have entered a state of shock at Temari's take-over, looked at Naruto a moment in confusion, then nodded. "I'll show you two to your rooms, I'm sure your kunoichi teammates would appreciate it if you would take their things to their rooms," he said. Naruto took the hint and lifted Hinata's bag into one hand and Kurenai's into the other, thanking them silently for packing light. Gaara grinned and walked off to show Naruto and Kiba to their rooms.

While Gaara was getting their guests settled, Temari had taken Kurenai and Hinata into the kitchen. "Okay, now that we don't have to worry about Kankuro bothering us," she began, "let's see about getting some dinner for us all made, and we can all have us some girl-talk."

Hinata smiled. "Thank you, Temari," she said, remembering the girl's name from what Neji had told her about the Sasuke retrieval mission. Kurenai nodded her thanks.

"Don't mention it," Temari responded. "I wanted to get away from my idiot brother anyway." She turned a grin to the other two. "Just because I can beat his ass with my fan doesn't mean I like doing it." Her look belied her words, however.

Hinata giggled. "Temari?" she said softly. Temari smiled at the girl. "Are there any dishes you could teach me to make from here?" Temari looked a little confused. "You see, I love cooking, but I've had to teach myself what I know, so anything you could teach me I would really appreciate. I've always wanted to learn new dishes and so on."

Temari came over and put one arm around Hinata's shoulders and led her to the kitchen, away from her sensei. "Well, let's see what we can do for you," she said, grinning. It wasn't often Temari found a kindred spirit like this, and she wasn't going to waste the opportunity.

Kurenai poked her head into the kitchen a moment later. "Temari, could you direct me to our rooms, please? I'd like to freshen up a bit before dinner," she said. Temari told her where the rooms were, then directed Hinata to a spot where she could wash up as well.

Once the older kunoichi was gone, Temari turned to Hinata. "So, Hinata, how are you and your boyfriend getting along?" she asked and chuckled in satisfaction at the deep blush that colored Hinata's face. Hinata looked up at Temari, her eyes worried. "Don't worry, Hinata, I won't tell. Gaara told me before your teammates got here. But seriously, how do you two get along?"

Hinata smiled. "We just got together on the way out here, actually, but so far, it's been really great," she said. She sighed. "I just hope it lasts, you know?"

Temari rested a hand on Hinata's shoulder. "If there's anything I know about Naruto, it's that once he decides he wants something, he never lets it go. Clearly, he wants you, even I could see that in his eyes, so don't worry yourself," she said, smiling at Hinata, who returned it shyly. "Now, come on, let's get dinner fixed, and I'll show you how to make a few things." The two kunoichi smiled at one another and set to work making dinner.

xxxxxx

Sasuke sat and waited in a tree not far from his trap. He sighed; this was frustrating as all hell. Why did he have to get sent out here to do this? Anyone could do it, but of course, Orochimaru had insisted it be him. He looked at his work again, making sure the traps were where he wanted them to be. Sighing, he settled in to try to get some sleep. This was annoying, but it would still be better to be at his best and ready for a fight. Closing his eyes, his thoughts drifted back to his old home as sleep began to take him. His last thought before he fell asleep was of Sakura, though why, he had no idea.

xxxxxx

Naruto looked at the group of people before him and his team. The only ones he knew by name were Gaara, Temari, Kankuro, Baki, and Matsuri. He'd been told the two ancient ones were Chiyo and Ebizo. The rest were, to him at least, just nameless Sand ninja of various ranks. The group was about fifty large, and all of them were coming back to the Leaf Village with Naruto and his team.

Naruto was a little annoyed about what was going on, but he had hope for his friend. He knew Gaara had the same dream he did, of being his village's leader, so he hoped this event would see his friend's dream come true, but at the same time he wished it was him taking part in the tournament for a chance to be Hokage.

Naruto sighed, then smiled. He and Hinata had been told to watch the front of the group, and Gaara and Matsuri had both said they would walk with them, so he didn't have all that much to complain about. After all, he'd have hours on end to talk to his friend. They would be leaving in a few minutes now, and Naruto couldn't help watching as Kankuro made his way toward Kurenai. Naruto chuckled. This should be good.

Kankuro walked up to Kurenai. He'd restrained himself while she was in his home as a guest, but now that they were leaving, he figured he might as well do some flirting. "Hey there, beautiful," he said to the red-eyed kunoichi. She just looked at him like his puppets were more interesting than he was himself. Kankuro, undeterred, flashed what he believed was a winning grin and said, "Hey, once we get back to the Leaf Village, how about you give me a private tour?"

Kurenai gave a small smile, made a single hand sign, and walked away. Kankuro didn't seem to notice one of his puppets was now in front of him (how he could not notice when he was controlling it himself is anyone's guess). He continued as if he were still talking to Kurenai. He spent the rest of the trip flirting with Black Ant.

Naruto smacked himself on the forehead as he watched Kankuro putting an arm around Black Ant's waist and the puppet smacking him on the top of his head. Naruto shook his head and proceeded to ignore Kankuro, while everyone else who could see him sweat-dropped at least twice a minute as he hit on his puppet...and continuously got rejected by it.

And so the entourage left the Sand Village. Naruto walked beside Hinata at the front of the group, Gaara behind him, Matsuri behind her. Once they were a ways out into the desert, Gaara came up beside Naruto. "How you holding up, Naruto?" he asked.

Naruto grinned at his friend. "I'm all right. It's frustrating being this close to Hinata and not able to touch her or anything, but, other than that, I'm fine. Who's this Matsuri girl?"

Gaara smiled at the brown-haired girl, who simply smiled back. "She's my apprentice. Kankuro, Temari, and I were asked to teach the up-and-coming Genin, and she asked me to teach her," he said. "We've gotten along really well, and I'd like to think I can call her a friend." He looked at Matsuri who, having heard Gaara's words, nodded in response.

Hinata fell back a step so she was beside Matsuri, and soon the two were whispering and giggling like old friends. Naruto just shrugged in a "I'll never understand girls" way, which made Gaara chuckle and nod.

"So, anyway, Gaara, what's new out here?" Naruto asked after a little bit. He gestured at Matsuri and added, "Other than her, I mean."

Gaara chuckled at his comment about Matsuri, then answered, "Nothing much really until this tournament came up." He looked back at Matsuri. "I'm looking forward to showing her what I can do. She's only really seen me as a teacher before, now she'll get to see me fight for real."

Naruto nodded. He knew how that felt. He looked at Hinata. "She's always seen me fighting and training before, I hope I can show her a different side of me now. She deserves it," he said, his voice slightly bitter. Gaara nodded in understanding. The two friends mostly walked in silence after that, each simply enjoying the company and understanding of his fellow jinchuuriki.

xxxxxx

Hinata smiled at Matsuri. "Hey, Matsuri," she said, her soft voice ringing sweetly. Matsuri smiled shyly. "You like Gaara, don't you?"

Matsuri blushed, then said, "Yes, of course I like Gaara-sensei. He's taught me so much." Of course, Matsuri knew that's not what Hinata meant, but she hoped to evade the question.

Hinata was having none of it. "That's not what I meant. You like him, want to be with him, don't you?" she said, a small smile on her face to show she meant no harm.

Matsuri blushed again. "Yes, I do," she said after a moment.

Hinata smiled. "I thought as much. You see, I've liked Naruto there for a long, long time, so I know exactly how you feel," she said. She then proceeded to tell Matsuri about watching Naruto, wishing he would notice her, and how he had recently, finally, begun to do so. She decided not to tell Matsuri just yet that they were a couple.

Matsuri smiled. "He's like Gaara, isn't he?" she asked after a moment. Hinata nodded. "And even knowing he's a jinchuuriki, you still like him?" Hinata nodded again. Matsuri giggled. "Knowing they're strong enough to contain a demon just makes them that much hotter, doesn't it?" she whispered to Hinata.

Hinata giggled back, then whispered, "I didn't think about it like that, but you're right, it does." She looked up at the two jinchuuriki in question, then added, "Let's go join them, they're not talking at the moment anyway."

Matsuri nodded and the two moved up to walk beside their respective crushes, leaving the two jinchuuriki beside one another in the middle. Hinata gave Naruto's hand a small touch as she stepped beside him, and the two shared a private smile, but other than that, the four simply walked together in companionable silence.

Suddenly, everyone in the moving group heard Kankuro whining, "Come on, just give me a chance!" followed by the sounds of him getting smacked by his puppet AGAIN and his face landing in the sand AGAIN. Everyone, including Gaara, sweat-dropped. Kurenai just laughed.

The group soon found themselves leaving the desert and entering a forested area. Just as evening approached, they found a small clearing that would be a perfect camping spot for the night. Hinata and Matsuri set about helping set up the tents, while Naruto and Gaara kept watch from nearby. Suddenly, an explosion rang out from nearby, startling everyone. As it turned out, someone had stepped on a trip-wire which sent a kunai with an explosive tag on it flying at him. No one was hurt, just surprised. Then it happened.

Everyone heard a voice ring out from behind them (they'd all turned to look toward the explosion), "FIRE STYLE: FIREBALL JUTSU!" It was Sasuke! Naruto would know that voice anywhere! He turned just in time to see a fireball heading at all of them, large enough to incinerate the entire party.

Gaara simply raised his hands and a wall of sand appeared in front of the group, blocking the fire jutsu. Everyone was shocked when the wall began to turn into glass as the fire melted it. Soon, Gaara lost control of the wall as it had all become glass. The middle part of the wall melted again, causing the top, solid part to fall toward the group. Everyone dodged except two. Hinata and Matsuri, seeing the two left behind, ran in and shoved them out of the way, the result of which was that Hinata and Matsuri got slammed into the ground by the falling glass. Both were knocked unconscious and covered in cuts as the glass shattered on the ground.

Naruto, seeing his new girlfriend hurt, roared in rage. "SASUKE!" he yelled out, his eyes already turning red and slitted. Sasuke heard the voice and was simultaneously glad to hear it and scared by it. He recognized it as the voice of Naruto, so he was glad, but it was also the angry voice he had heard at the Valley of the End, so he was scared. Activating his Curse Mark, he stepped out into the open where the group could see him. He chuckled.

"Hello, Naruto," he said. He flashed a few hand signs, then called out, "FIRE STYLE: PHOENIX FLOWER JUTSU!" He spewed a huge group of fireballs at the group, shuriken hidden in them. Gaara again protected the group with his sand; it worked better this time, since the fireballs were smaller and less intense. The sand also blocked the shuriken, so no one was hurt by those either. Turning to Gaara, Sasuke snarled, "Stay out of this, or I will kill them."

Gaara nodded, deciding this wasn't the time to push the Uchiha. He'd leave this up to Naruto for now. Everyone else was either terrified by Naruto's rage or the Uchiha's obvious bloodlust, so no one moved to get between the two. Naruto, sporting three tails by now, growled out, "Sasuke, I promised I would bring you back to the village, and today, I WILL see that promise fulfilled, even if I have to bring you back in a body bag!" Sasuke looked at his friend in shock. Those would be the last words spoken for the duration of their fight, though neither knew that at the time.

Naruto charged, his speed even greater than what Sasuke had seen before. Even with his Sharingan eyes, Sasuke couldn't quite keep up with Naruto. Naruto's first strike landed on Sasuke's left cheek, sending him flying thirty feet. He came to a stop as he slammed into a tree. Before moving again, he advanced his Curse Mark to second state. Using his wings, he charged at Naruto, landing a kick on the blond's chin. Naruto flipped backward, but just before he got out of range, he used the momentum from Sasuke's attack to land a kick of his own straight into Sasuke's stomach. Naruto stopped his backward flight with his tails, while Sasuke did the same with his wings.

Naruto snarled at his former friend. Sasuke just glared, his Sharingan eyes active and trying to predict what the blond would do next. Naruto knew Sasuke would fight defensively, just as Sasuke knew Naruto would fight aggressively. As predicted, Naruto leapt forward. Sasuke prepared to dodge, believing that Naruto was going to try for a direct punch again. Just as Sasuke dodged backward, however, Naruto leapt into the air and flew downward at Sasuke. His feet landed in Sasuke's stomach at the same time his fists landed on his face. His left hit him square on the nose while his right hit him from the side on the jaw. As both landed on the ground, Naruto sprang backward.

Sasuke rose, breathing through his mouth as his broken nose spewed blood. His jaw hurt, but it wasn't broken. He spat blood, then, in rage, charged at Naruto. Naruto dodged the punch but the kick landed on his right leg, breaking the fibula. At the same time, Sasuke swung with both wings, the claws on the ends of which cut Naruto's chest to shreds. Naruto landed on his back, screaming in pain. Moments later, his bone and chest were healed, and he was on his feet again.

Naruto, beyond enraged now, held out one hand, forming a Rasengan in it. Sasuke, seeing what was going on, backed up a short way and formed a Chidori. The two charged at one another and slammed their attacks into one another. Waves of chakra flowed from the point of impact, red from Naruto's Rasengan, purple from Sasuke's Chidori. The two fought for dominance for a moment, then the Chidori failed and Naruto's Rasengan tore into Sasuke's arm, destroying it. Naruto followed it all the way to Sasuke's shoulder. Then he brought his other hand around, revealing a second Rasengan swirling in it. He plunged this one into Sasuke's stomach, leaving Sasuke with one arm and a hole in his gut. Naruto, spent, reverted to his normal form and fell face-first to the ground, unconscious.

Sasuke rose and began to make his way toward Naruto, his eyes full of Killing Intent. Gaara, seeing this, moved quickly. Before he knew what had happened, Sasuke was encased in sand up to his neck. Gaara grinned at him as his Curse Mark receded. "Any last words?" Gaara asked.

Sasuke thought for a moment, wondering what would have happened if he had stayed in the Leaf Village. He wondered if he could have achieved his dream of restoring his clan, and he thought of Sakura. _"Could I have had happiness without revenge?"_ Then he realized that was all in the past, and he had no future now. _"Yeah, I could have, but not anymore. Guess I'm the dead-last now."_ He gave a sad smile. "Tell Sakura I'm sorry," he said.

Gaara nodded and closed his hand, crushing the boy's body to pulp. All that was left was his head. Gaara picked it up and sealed it into a scroll to take to the Hokage. Then he formed a cloud of sand and placed Naruto, Hinata, and Matsuri on it and rose into the air. "I'll take them to the Leaf Village. They need help right away." Kurenai nodded, and, moments later, Gaara and his sand cloud were out of sight. The remnants of the group settled down to try to get some sleep so they could continue toward the Leaf Village the following morning.

Gaara moved as fast as he could. Just as dawn was breaking, he saw the gates of the Leaf Village. He sighed in relief, then rushed them to the Hokage's office. "Lady Hokage, these three need your immediate assistance," he said.

Tsunade looked up and saw Gaara there. Then she saw the three unconscious people with him. She had him lay them on the floor, which he did. "SHIZUNE!" Tsunade yelled.

The assistant entered the room and immediately began helping Tsunade. Tsunade concentrated on Naruto first, found he was fine, just exhausted, and set herself to work on Hinata. Shizune set to work on Matsuri. It only took the two medical ninja a few minutes to heal the two wounded girls; they would both need blood transfusions, but they would be fine.

Tsunade stood up from her kneeling position and looked at Gaara. She gestured at the three ninja on the floor and flared her Killing Intent. "Who did this?" she asked, her voice deadly calm.

Gaara, unfazed by the Killing Intent, laid a scroll on the floor and made a hand sign. A head that was all-too-familiar to both Tsunade and Shizune appeared from it in a puff of smoke. As both medics gasped and put their hands over their mouths in shock and disgust, Gaara spoke a single word. "Him."

Author Note: I was intending this chapter to be about the same length as the first two chapters of this story. Clearly, that didn't happen. This chapter just gained a life of its own and kept growing and growing. Not to say I'm not happy with it, I am, very much so, and I hope you all enjoyed it too. Just don't expect chapters this massive from me very often. This chapter is a solid 3,000 words longer than my longest chapter before this, so yeah, this won't happen very often. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed, and I'm looking forward to your feedback.


	4. Bad News

Chapter 4

Tsunade and Shizune stared at the black-haired head sitting on the floor of the Hokage's office in shock. "S...Sasuke..." they said together, their voices dead.

Tsunade turned to Shizune, her eyes showing her dread, though her voice was even. "Shizune, gather the teams, they deserve to be told about this. I will speak to them all soon," she said. Shizune, her own eyes full of pain, nodded and left. Tsunade then turned to Gaara, sitting heavily in the Hokage's chair. "All right, Gaara, explain," she said, her eyes leveled at Gaara.

Gaara looked at a chair and spoke. "May I?" he asked. When Tsunade nodded, he sat, his exhaustion obvious. He then looked up at the Hokage and took a deep breath. "Well, as you know, Naruto, Hinata, and Kiba, along with their sensei, Kurenai, were sent to my village to deliver a proposal for a Kazekage selection tournament." Tsunade nodded. "Well, they made it there easily and stayed at my home for the duration of their stay; on leaving, they brought an entourage of fifty Sand ninja with them, myself included, intending to accept said proposal."

Tsunade smiled briefly. "Good. I'm glad some good will come of this," she said. Gaara nodded in return.

"Anyway, we had traveled a day back toward here, when we came across a rather idyllic clearing and began to set up camp for the night," Gaara said, his voice as level as before, though it was obvious he wasn't happy with what he had to tell Tsunade. "We had been in the clearing for mere moments when one of our group tripped a trap, which set off a small explosion. No one was hurt, but we were all distracted a moment. Then," here he gestured to the head, "he came from nowhere and spat a fireball at us. I erected a sand wall to defend our group, but his fire was so hot it melted the sand and turned it to glass. A large chunk of glass fell. Two of our group were unable to dodge it, and these two," here he gestured to Matsuri and Hinata, "pushed them out of the way, at the cost of getting hurt themselves."

Tsunade had to smile. "Too kind for their own good, aren't they?"

Gaara chuckled wryly. "Indeed. Anyway, he tried another fire jutsu, which I blocked with sand; this one was much less intense, so no one got hurt by it. He then threatened that he would kill my people if I didn't stay out of the fight, so I just stood back. Naruto, who was by then in his three-tailed form, attacked Sasuke. His Rasengan and Sasuke's Chidori fought for dominance, and Naruto won, depriving the traitor of one of his arms. Naruto then slammed a second Rasengan into Sasuke's stomach moments before passing out from chakra exhaustion and pain, as I'm sure you gathered." Tsunade nodded; she'd noticed that when she examined Naruto. "Anyway, I had been directing my sand during that, so when Sasuke moved to kill Naruto, I encased him in sand. He gave me his last words, which I will deliver to the one for whom he intended them, and then I did that." Here he gestured once more to the head. "His body was crushed and became part of my sand, so you need not worry about anyone stealing secrets from it."

Tsunade folded her fingers together under her chin. "First off, what were his last words?"

Gaara sighed. "He said to tell Sakura he was sorry."

Tsunade nodded. "You can do that, I suppose. It might be some comfort to her. As for the rest...here," she said and handed Gaara an envelope. Opening it, Gaara found a voucher for several thousand ryo in it. He looked at Tsunade questioningly. "Your reward for killing a rogue ninja from this village, one Sasuke Uchiha." Gaara nodded and pocketed it. No more would ever be said about _that_.

"Anyway, after that, I formed a sand cloud and brought these three here as quickly as I could, knowing that they needed treatment, and that you and Shizune were the best for that," he finished. Tsunade nodded.

"Thank you, Gaara," she said. "For helping my ninja, I thank you sincerely as Hokage. For helping Naruto, I thank you as his godmother."

Gaara gave a small smile. "You are most welcome, Lady Hokage," he said simply. "Just know I didn't do it for you, I did it for Naruto, my friend."

Tsunade chuckled. "I figured as much," she said. "Though I must say I'm surprised you'd be so candid as to tell me so."

Gaara shrugged. "Just don't want you to be confused about my motives," he said. Tsunade nodded, granting his point. "Anyway, is there a place I can rest? I've got a lot of chakra left, but this has been a trying day, and I am exhausted."

Tsunade chuckled. "I think we can manage to get you a place to rest. SHIZUNE!" Shizune opened the office door and came in.

"Yes, milady?" she asked.

"Could you see to it Gaara here has a place to rest, please?" Tsunade asked, her tone making it clear this was an order, not a request.

"Of course. Gaara, you are here for the tournament, yes?" Shizune asked. Gaara nodded. "All right. We already have rooms reserved for you all at the Okamai Hotel down near the village market. If you'll follow me." With that, the assistant and the jinchuriki turned to leave the Hokage's office. "Oh, milady, the people you requested are downstairs, shall I send them up?" Shizune asked just before she left.

"Yes, please do, Shizune," Tsunade said, her head bowed and buried in her hands. Once Shizune and Gaara were gone, she resealed Sasuke's head in the scroll Gaara had brought it back in and hid it in one of the drawers on her desk for the time being. She didn't think Sakura in particular would take it very well if she saw _that_.

Next, she moved Naruto, Hinata, and Matsuri onto three couches in the room, then sat down to wait for the rest of the remaining members of the Konoha Twelve to reach her office. After a few moments, a knock sounded. "Come in," Tsunade said, forcing her voice to remain calm.

Neji, Lee, Tenten, Shino, Shikamaru, Ino, Choji, and Sakura all strode into Tsunade's office, looks of bewilderment and curiosity on their faces. Tsunade sat behind her desk, face buried in her hands. No one spoke for several moments. None of the younger ninja knew why they were there, and Tsunade couldn't come up with the words to break the news to them.

Eventually, Sakura couldn't take the awkward silence any longer. "Lady Tsunade?"

Tsunade looked up at the ninja who occupied her office, her face grim, and began.

xxxxxx

Tsunade looked at her ninja and waited. She had finished explaining the circumstances and outcome of the battle so far as she knew them, so now she was waiting for their reactions.

Ino was the first to react. "So...Sasuke's dead?" she asked. Tsunade nodded. Ino tried to not show it, but she couldn't hold back for long; she burst into tears. Surprising everyone, Choji pulled her into his arms and just held her. No one said a word, and Ino didn't object, she just sobbed into Choji's chest.

Shikamaru sighed. "What a drag," he commented. "This is going to cause all kinds of issues, isn't it?" Tsunade gave a wry smile to the genius and nodded. Shino remained silent, thinking along the same lines as Shikamaru. Tenten simply nodded, her face grim.

"What of Naruto and Hinata?" Neji asked. His face clearly showed barely controlled rage. "Are they all right?"

Tsunade pointed to where the three wounded ninja were resting. "See for yourselves," she said back. Everyone but Ino, Choji, Sakura, and Lee went to check on their wounded friends. Tsunade cocked an eyebrow at Sakura. "Yes, Sakura?"

Sakura's eyes were slits, her fists clenched, her mouth a hard line. "Naruto," she said, her voice cold. "He broke his promise to me. He swore he'd bring Sasuke back, and he broke his word." She turned and made her way toward her injured ex-teammate. Glaring at him, she drew back a fist, obviously intending to hit Naruto.

Lee saw what she was doing. "Sakura!" he yelled and moved quickly to block her move. He barely got there in time. Sakura struggled in vain to get out of Lee's grasp. Suddenly, Lee remembered something Naruto had told him Kakashi said. "If abandoning your comrades makes you worse than scum, what are you if you _attack_ your comrades, Sakura?"

Sakura froze, Lee's words hitting home. She went limp, and Lee's grip loosened on her. She burst out of his hands and out of the Hokage's office, tears streaming from her face as she ran for her home. Lee looked at his hands, seemingly surprised to find them empty, then around at the faces looking at him. He looked confused. It seemed that the words he spoke had hit home to him as well; he was now wondering what he'd ever seen in Sakura to begin with. One thing was for sure: he knew now he didn't love her.

Slowly, the young ninja made their way out of their leader's office. Ino and Choji left together, followed by Shino and Shikamaru, who were talking quietly about what they would need to do in the near future. This left only Team Guy in the room. Neji gestured for his teammates to leave; he wanted to speak to the Hokage alone.

Lee and Tenten left. Lee got a surprise when Tenten gave him a one-armed hug before sprinting off. Lee grinned. "So, it's a chase you want, eh, Tenten?" he said. "All right then, I will use the power of my youth and catch you!" Tenten giggled, and Lee took off after her, silently thanking her for the distraction.

Neji sighed. "Lady Hokage, I trust you have healed my cousin and Naruto, but I do have one question I would like to address to you if I may," he said. Tsunade nodded for him to continue. "Who actually killed the traitor?"

Tsunade took a deep breath. She'd kept this information back on purpose. "Gaara of the Desert performed the execution, as it were," she told him. Neji nodded; he was relieved he wouldn't have to talk to Hinata about taking a life just yet. He turned to leave, but Tsunade's voice stopped him. "Neji?" He turned and looked at her, questions written on his face. "Tell Hiashi that Hinata will be needed outside the compound for the next two weeks to complete this mission, please." Neji nodded that he would, bowed, and took his leave of his leader.

As he made his way out of the tower, Neji heard Lee and Tenten laughing and knew Tenten was doing everything she could to distract Lee from both the loss of Sasuke, whom Lee often wanted to fight, and the disillusionment he had experienced regarding Sakura. Neji allowed a small smile. "Perhaps Sasuke's death was the best thing that could have happened for this village," he mused to himself.

xxxxxx

Sakura sat on her bed, her eyes misty, distant. "What have I done?" she asked herself. She'd heard Lee laughing from outside as she sat in her room. It was somewhat forced, but she could tell Lee wouldn't be coming around her for a while, if ever again. She'd tried to attack Naruto, which she knew Naruto would find out about one way or another. In essence, she had ruined any chance she ever had with either Naruto or Lee in one fell swoop.

Inner Sakura stomped her foot. **"Why did you have to do something so stupid?"** she yelled at Sakura.

Sakura just sighed, having no answer even for herself as to why she had done that. She sighed again. Even Kiba wouldn't look at her now, what with how much he valued loyalty and all. She doubted Shino would ever forgive her; she knew he had a tendency to bear a grudge. Choji had Ino now, and Sakura had to admit to herself she wouldn't do anything to come between them. Shikamaru wasn't her type, and Naruto would likely soon have Hinata, if he didn't yet, and to make things worse, Sasuke was dead.

Sakura's scream of frustration was heard in all corners of the village. Only three of the Konoha Eleven didn't hear it: Kiba, who was outside the village at the time, and Naruto and Hinata, who were both unconscious. "Sasuke," she said to herself. "Why did you have to die? Why couldn't you have just stayed with me?" She burst into tears. No one came to her, no one comforted her, no one even knew she was crying. It took almost an hour, but soon enough Sakura felt as if she had no more tears to cry. She looked around her room. Everything she saw in some way reminded her of Sasuke. That just wouldn't do. Her eyes became hard and cold again as she rose from her bed.

xxxxxx

Naruto opened his eyes slowly. His head was throbbing. _"Where am I?"_ he thought to himself. Then he remembered what had been happening when he lost consciousness; he'd been fighting Sasuke! He sat up quickly, then immediately regretted it as he felt as if his head was being squeezed in a vice.

"Oh, Naruto, you're awake," a voice said. Naruto turned toward it as best he could and found Tsunade smiling at him. He tried to speak, but Tsunade gestured for him to stay quiet. "Don't talk, you're fine. We're in my office right now, you, Hinata, and Matsuri are all fine, and the rest of the delegation from Sand should be here soon."

"The rrrrest?" Naruto asked, his tongue sluggish.

Tsunade chuckled. "Gaara brought you, Hinata, and Matsuri here so I could treat you. Everyone else should be here soon. Get some rest, I'll explain everything once you're all awake." Naruto nodded and was back asleep within moments.

xxxxxx

Sakura looked around her room. Everything in the room was now white. Her bed had plain white sheets, her walls were white and bare, she'd even torn out her old carpet and painted the floor white along with the walls. The effect was startling and more than a little glaring. Sakura sighed as she sat on her bed again. This time she laid down and fell asleep almost immediately.

A/N: Sorry for the short chapter this time. Next chapter will be Naruto and Hinata finding out about Sasuke and will be quite fluffy to make up for this one. Anyway, hope you all enjoyed, and sorry if not, I really wasn't feeling this one.


	5. Hurt and Comfort

Chapter 5

Naruto opened his eyes slowly, blinking at the bright light that met them almost immediately. He tried to look around and was surprised when he found he couldn't turn his head. Looking up, he had to smile. Hinata had apparently awakened before him, and she was now sitting with his head in her lap and playing with his hair.

Naruto reached up and stroked her cheek when he saw she was smiling down at him. The secret couple shared a smile, then Naruto sat up. Turning and throwing his legs off the couch, Naruto smiled at Hinata again, resting a hand on her knee gently for a second. "Good morning, beautiful," he commented. Hinata blushed, causing the blond to chuckle.

"Glad to see you took my advice, Naruto," a voice said from the door to the Hokage's office. Naruto and Hinata both turned and found the owner of the voice, Tsunade, standing there grinning at them. "And don't worry, Hinata, all I told him was you liked him and he'd be well-served by getting to know you," she added when Hinata's face took on a scandalized look.

Hinata gave a small smile. "Thank you, Lady Hokage," she commented. When Naruto and Tsunade both turned confused looks on her, she explained, "I would likely have never been brave enough to tell you how I felt myself, Naruto, so I'm glad someone did so for me."

Tsunade smiled at the dark-haired heiress. "Not a problem, Hinata, I'm just glad you didn't take it as me butting into your personal business," she said, her eyes showing her relief was genuine.

Hinata reached over and put an arm around Naruto. "It got me what I've always wanted, Lady Tsunade, so there's no way I could ever be mad at you for whatever you did," she said, a bright smile on her face.

Naruto shifted Hinata slightly around so that the two were next to one another, each with an arm around the other, and smiled at Tsunade. "Yeah, Grandma, you really did us both a big favor, telling me that," he said.

Beginning with Hinata's move and continuing through Naruto's reaction and comment, Tsunade's eyes had been growing wider and her jaw dropping further. By now, her jaw was resting on her desk, and her eyes looked ready to jump out of her head. Then, moments later, she was with the young couple, hugging them both as she lifted them from the couch. Naruto and Hinata were both shocked to hear the Hokage _squeal_ like a little girl.

Tsunade suddenly realized what she was doing and gently set the young couple down. Clearing her throat, she commented, "That never happened." Naruto snorted, and Hinata giggled slightly at her antics, then Tsunade remembered something else. "Oh, I have some things to tell you both. You might want to sit down," she said. As she spoke, she made her way to her desk and took her own advice, sitting on the edge of her desk and looking at the two. They sat on the couch, worried looks decorating their faces. "What's the last thing you remember?"

Naruto pondered a moment, then related his fight with Sasuke, in all its gory detail, to Tsunade. She nodded when he stopped at his own loss of consciousness. "Well, after that, Sasuke moved to kill you, Naruto," she said. Naruto looked shocked, but he didn't deny it; no matter how much he wanted to call Tsunade a liar, he believed her. The Hokage continued, "You are only alive now because your friend, Gaara, stepped in at that point and saved you. As you might or might not guess, he did so by killing Sasuke."

Now Naruto looked stunned. Eventually, he just nodded, forcing his own feelings down. "How did Sakura take it?" he asked, guessing that they were being told like this because the others knew already. Tsunade related how the rest of the Konoha Eleven had taken the news of the Uchiha's death.

Naruto let that sink in for a minute, then, surprising everyone, even himself seemingly, he pulled Hinata to himself and held her. Hinata, though surprised, wrapped her arms around him. It took a moment for Hinata to realize why Naruto had grabbed her like that, but then she heard it: Naruto was sobbing into her shoulder, where he had buried his face when he pulled her to him. Hinata made slight comforting sounds to the sobbing blond and just held him as he let out all of his pain. As she listened to him sobbing, Hinata thought about how she would react if something happened to Neji, and she realized she couldn't blame Naruto in the slightest; he had just lost his brother, so really, he had every reason to cry, no matter how un-ninja-like it was.

It took Naruto about ten minutes to sob out all his frustrations and pains about Sasuke, but once he was done, he pulled back from Hinata and turned to Tsunade with dry eyes and a forced smile. "Is there anything else you need to tell us, Grandma?" he asked. Tsunade nodded. "Okay, what is it?"

"Naruto, I'm sorry for hiding this from you for so long, but I promised I wouldn't tell you this until you had your first girlfriend," she began. Naruto looked confused, then smiled at Hinata. Hinata felt her heart melt as she realized, despite his pain, the smile Naruto was giving her was real, not forced. In his mind, Naruto was thanking Hinata for whatever Tsunade was about to tell him; it was essentially only because of her that he was about to learn it. "I'm your godmother," Tsunade finished.

Naruto turned to Tsunade, a look of shock on his face. "So, that means...you know who my parents were?" he asked, his voice hopeful. Tsunade nodded. "Please, Grandma Tsunade, you have to tell me who they were!"

Tsunade sighed. "All right, I'll tell you, but both of you, this is an S-class secret, it does not leave this room, are we clear?" Both Naruto and Hinata nodded. "Your father was Minato Namikaze, also known as the Yellow Flash, our own Fourth Hokage," she said, figuring to get the bigger shock over with first. Naruto just chuckled at that, surprising both Tsunade and Hinata. "And your mother," Tsunade continued after a moment when it was clear Naruto wasn't going to say anything else, "was Kushina Uzumaki. Your mother was basically a princess in the Land of Whirlpools."

Ironically, _that_ caused Naruto's jaw to drop. After a moment, he regained his composure. Tsunade looked at him curiously. "I wasn't surprised when you told me the Fourth was my father," he began, "because if you ever look at a picture of him and one of me, it's _glaringly_ obvious. I had no idea who my mother was, though. I mean, I was sure she was awesome; she had to be to have me, but I had _no idea_ she was a princess!"

Tsunade chuckled. "Well, she wasn't a princess, really, just the closest thing the Land of Whirlpools had to one." She thought a moment. "Kind of like Hinata here is the closest thing Konoha has to a princess, now that I think about it," she finished.

Naruto chuckled. "Fitting, isn't it?" he said. Tsunade and Hinata both looked at him, confused; he was surprising both of them time and time again today. "I'm pretty much a prince, since my father was the Fourth and you're my godmother," he explained. "So it's only fitting I would end up with Konoha's own princess." The two kunoichi thought about this for a moment, then Hinata blushed furiously, and Tsunade burst into laughter. Naruto just smiled at both of them and held Hinata closer to himself.

xxxxxx

Neji sighed as he looked at the village through his active Byakugan. _"When did the entire village go insane?"_ he asked himself. In the distance somewhere, he could hear Lee and Tenten laughing. Tenten had clearly not lost Lee. _"Like that would ever happen,"_ Neji thought ruefully. Somehow, he suspected that the next time he saw those two, they would be a couple. He knew for a fact Tenten had been crushing on Lee for a long time, since they were first made a team almost, and it seemed that now, with Lee disillusioned about Sakura, she had her chance. If Neji knew anything about his female teammate, he knew she wasn't the type to look a gift horse in the mouth.

Turning slightly, Neji expanded his Byakugan's range in one direction and saw Naruto's pink-haired teammate stepping out of her home. Thinking back to the scene in the Hokage's office, Neji sighed; he realized, as did almost everyone, that Sakura had almost no chance of getting with anyone after the stunt she pulled. _"But you know all about being in the darkness, don't you, Neji?"_ he thought to himself. _"And you know all about needing forgiveness and a second chance."_ With that thought, Neji leapt down from the tree branch where he'd been perched, thinking.

Sakura wasn't really paying any attention where she was going, she just needed to get out of her house for a while. Her room no longer made her think of Sasuke at every moment, but being there still made her antsy. So now she found herself simply walking, no particular goal in mind. _"Will Naruto ever forgive me?"_ she asked herself. _"Will anyone?"_ She sighed deeply. _"I really don't deserve to be forgiven, do I? I mean, it's my fault Naruto was out there, trying to get Sasuke back, it's my fault he got hurt, and then what do I do? I try to hit him!"_ She growled quietly at herself. _"Damn it, Sakura, you're an idiot!"_

Between being wrapped up in her thoughts and not paying attention to where she was going to begin with, Sakura never saw the body that suddenly appeared in front of her. She didn't see it, that is, until she had literally run into it. When she felt her forward momentum suddenly stop, Sakura expected to find herself sitting on the ground. Instead, she found herself caught by strong arms holding her on her feet. Looking up slightly, she was surprised to find Neji looking down at her. It was him she had bumped into and his arms that now held her up.

Jumping back away from Neji, Sakura was surprised to find herself wishing she hadn't; his arms around her and his chest against her had felt nice. "Oh, Neji," she said, her voice dull. "Sorry, I wasn't paying attention." She watched curiously as Neji turned toward her. She was surprised to find his Byakugan was active. As he looked at her, he deactivated it.

"No problem," he said, his voice soft. "If anyone understands forgiveness, it's me." Sakura somehow got the feeling he wasn't just talking about their collision a moment ago. She looked at him curiously, and Neji responded by looking into her eyes and nodding slightly. Something told her Neji had intended to tell her this from the start, though why he would cause a collision just to tell her that, she had no idea. Sakura was surprised to see a slight smile tugging at the corners of Neji's lips. She looked into his eyes and saw...not pity, was that sympathy? "I'll see you around, okay?" he said, and then he was gone.

"Well, that was...odd," Sakura said to no one in particular. She couldn't deny, though, that she felt somewhat better, despite how odd that little event was.

xxxxxx

Kabuto sighed, his annoyance clear. This was _not_ how he wanted to spend his day. He had to tell his master that his intended vessel was...no longer available. Entering the room, he found the pale-skinned man he had come to serve, worship even, sitting in his usual spot. Kabuto chuckled as he had to remind himself that the seat wasn't a throne, just his master's preferred place to be. "Lord Orochimaru," he said, his silky smooth voice quivering slightly.

"Ah, Kabuto," the pale man responded. His eyes opened, and Kabuto got a slight thrill at the sight of the snake-like eyes. The rage and hate in those eyes sometimes scared Kabuto, but they always left him excited in more ways than he would ever care to admit. "You have news of our Sasuke for me? Have you heard from him, perhaps?" Kabuto shivered slightly at the hiss at the end of his master's last word. Orochimaru must have noticed that Kabuto was nervous. "What is it, Kabuto? Is there trouble?"

"I'm afraid so, Lord Orochimaru," he said back after a moment. He took a deep breath. This was _not_ going to go well. "I haven't heard _from_ Sasuke, but I have heard word _of_ him." Kabuto stopped. Orochimaru made an impatient gesture for Kabuto to continue, which he did after a moment, but not before setting his body to healing every inch of itself in anticipation of what Orochimaru would do to him when this news was relayed. "It seems that his ambush of the Sand delegation failed."

"Failed? That's not like our Sasuke at all. Pray tell me, Kabuto, exactly how did his ambush fail?" Orochimaru said, his eyes taking on a dark visage as he stared at Kabuto. Kabuto gulped; this was going to be worse than he thought.

"During his ambush, he got into a fight with Naruto Uzumaki," Kabuto began. He then told Orochimaru what little he knew of the fight itself, which amounted to the fact that Sasuke had somehow lost his arm, Kabuto hadn't been able to figure out how. "Afterward, when Sasuke was moving toward the boy to kill him...a boy, Gaara, from the Sand Village, stopped Sasuke and...killed him." Kabuto's last two words seemed to echo over and over in the stillness that followed them. It was ominous.

"WHAT?" Orochimaru roared. Moving quickly, he grabbed Kabuto's throat and lifted him off the ground. Glaring into his subordinate's eyes, he snarled, "You mean to tell me that some meaningless Sand Village _brat_ has robbed me of my new vessel?"

Kabuto gasped for breath. "Yes, Lord Orochimaru, I'm afraid that seems to be the case," he answered, his voice strangled. Orochimaru roared in rage and threw the younger man. Kabuto slammed into the wall of the snake summoner's lab and kept going. After a few minutes, he found himself slammed into a tree outside the building. He had gone through probably thirty walls in between. Despite the pain he was in, Kabuto couldn't help being impressed with his lord's strength. Extracting himself from the tree, he was inordinately glad he'd begun to heal himself _before_ he told Lord Orochimaru about Sasuke.

Orochimaru, meanwhile, was in a rage. He was all over the Sound Village, seemingly everywhere at once, taking out his anger on anything, or anyone, in his path. Kabuto simply stayed out of his way and tried to make sure none of their experiments were damaged beyond repair. He was frustrated when the snake summoner destroyed everything they had on the one Biju who did not currently have a jinchuriki, the three-tailed turtle. _"Oh well,"_ Kabuto thought. _"We'll just have to start over on that subject, I guess."_ Even as he thought this, he knew somehow that they would likely never find that one boy again...what was his name? Dukimaru? Zukomaru? Damn it! Oh well, they'd find another way. There was always more than one way to get anything worth doing done. Still, this would probably set their progress back by a year or more.

Kabuto sighed and continued to follow his raging master. At least his anger wasn't aimed at Kabuto himself...at the moment, anyway.

xxxxxx

Naruto sighed and sat down heavily. It was nearing sunset, and he and Hinata were at the training ground now, where Naruto found himself sitting beside the post Kakashi-sensei had tied him to when he, Sasuke, and Sakura had failed so badly at the bell test. He sighed again at the thought of his best friend. Hinata sat down beside him and rested a hand on his leg gently. "I'm here for you, Naruto," she said quietly. "You don't have to hide your pain with me. Let it out."

Naruto smiled at the girl and put an arm around her shoulders. Pulling her toward him, she somehow ended up sitting on his lap, not that either of them was complaining. Naruto smiled. "I'm just so frustrated, you know? I mean, I promised Sakura _on my life_ that I'd bring Sasuke back...and I still failed!" he said. Hinata just wrapped her arms around her boyfriend's chest and laid her head on his shoulder. Naruto smiled slightly. "Why are you so forgiving of me, Hinata?"

"You're not perfect, Naruto," she said back. "If you were, you would have known what would happen and you wouldn't have made that promise to Sakura to begin with. But you are still you, Kyubi or no, and there's no way I'm going to let a mistake you made in your past drive us apart." She giggled slightly at her confidence in saying that, then added, "And I'm not going to let your depression do it, either."

Naruto smiled at her and put both arms around her. Then he sighed again. "Why did Sasuke have to leave?" he asked no one. Hinata just listened, knowing that's all he needed. "Why did he have to go and hurt Sakura like that? Why did he have to go and try to get power from that snake? Weren't we good enough for him? Why couldn't we save him?" At that, Naruto burst into tears and, holding Hinata close, sobbed onto her shoulder. Hinata, glad he wasn't hiding his pain from her anymore, just held him close and rubbed his back gently. She didn't shush him, she didn't try to calm him down, she just held him and let him cry.

It took Naruto a solid ten minutes to cry himself out, but he eventually did. Pulling back from his girlfriend, he gave her a small smile through his tears. "Thank you, Hinata," he said. "This is the first time anyone's been here for me like this. Thank you so much." That said, he hugged her tight a moment, then, pulling back, looked into her eyes a moment then suddenly kissed her. Hinata, though surprised, wasn't about to object and kissed him back.

It wasn't a passionate kiss, but neither was it a simple peck. The kiss lasted a long time, the two simply reveling in the comfort each gained from the other and in how safe and accepted they felt together. After a few minutes, the kiss ended, and the two simply held one another close, Naruto occasionally sobbing, Hinata comforting him when needed. It took a while, but eventually the young couple found themselves laying on the ground, Hinata on top of Naruto. It didn't take long after that before both young ninja were asleep, the moon just starting to rise over them.

xxxxxx

Guren looked at the young man who was standing before her. "Is this true?" she asked. The boy nodded. "So, Lord Orochimaru's chosen vessel died, and now he's in a rage. That's interesting. That's very interesting indeed." Chuckling, she turned to her second-in-command. "Get ready. We have an invasion to plan. We will avenge Lord Orochimaru's loss!" The man nodded, bowed, and scurried away. "And just maybe, once Lord Orochimaru sees my worth, he'll decide to make _me_ his next vessel." Giggling like a schoolgirl at the thought, Guren sat at her desk and began to plan her invasion; it was crucial that everything happen according to plan if they were going to take on the Leaf Village...

xxxxxx

"You all right, Lee?" Tenten asked as the two sat down in the small restaurant where the two had decided to eat dinner after their merry chase all over Konoha. As Lee had sat down, Tenten had noticed his head had fallen lower than normal and he seemed depressed, which had elicited her question.

Lee raised his head slowly and looked at Tenten, his eyes dull, his normal smile obviously forced. "I will be fine, Tenten, it just seems that my fires of youth are burning duller than usual at the moment," he said, his normally loud and exuberant voice replaced by a quiet, subdued one.

Tenten sighed. "You're thinking about Sakura huh?" she asked. Lee nodded. "You can do so much better than her, Lee. You're an awesome guy, and any girl who can't see that isn't worth your time." Lee looked up in surprise at her words. Tenten just smiled.

After a moment, Lee looked away, a slight blush on his cheeks, then looked back and spoke again. "Tenten, you say I can do better, but I know the truth of the matter. I know I'm too loud and not subtle enough for any girl out there to really want to be with me. I know that. And now, when my fires of youth are so dull, I find I must be even less desirable than usual," he said, then sighed again.

Tenten surprised Lee then by reaching over and laying her hand on his. Lee looked up at her, surprise obvious on his face, his eyes questioning. Tenten stroked his hand gently a moment, then said, "Well, if you find yourself undesirable with your flames of youth burning so dully, perhaps I can help you to rekindle them."

Lee was surprised to hear such words from his long-time teammate, but he smiled. Turning his hand over and grasping the one stroking it, he smiled at Tenten. "Perhaps you can at that, Tenten. I find I'm feeling better just being with you like this," he said, his voice still quiet, but less depressed than before. Tenten smiled at his words. She would have said something, but their waiter chose that moment to appear to take their orders. After the two had ordered, they sat patiently, hands entwined, as they waited for their meals to be brought to them. Somehow, neither felt the need to speak; their linked hands said everything that needed to be said.

xxxxxx

Choji looked at Ino as the two sat down together; they were at their team's old training ground. They had spent the last hour or so sparring, which really amounted to Choji defending himself from Ino's enraged attacks as she let off steam about everything that was going on lately. She finally seemed to have calmed down. "You okay, Ino?" he asked her.

Ino sighed and flipped her blond hair out of her face. "Yeah, I'll be fine, Choji," she told him, forcing a smile for her old friend. "Why did you do this?" Choji looked confused. "Why did you come out here with me and let me do all this?"

Choji sighed. "What are friends for?" he asked back. Ino looked up at him, the look on her face clearly saying she knew that wasn't the whole story. "All right, fine, the fact is, I'd rather you attack me like this than anyone else. I can take it, and I know you don't mean any harm, but someone else might actually hold it against you."

Ino chuckled ruefully. "You didn't do anything to deserve this, though, Cho," she said. Choji smiled at her use of his nickname. "I'm just annoyed at everyone else."

Choji smiled at his old friend. "I know, Ino, and I know you're not doing this to me because you're mad at me. It's fine, really."

Ino reached over and took Choji's hand in hers, causing the heavy-set youth to get chills up and down his spine. "Thanks, Choji, you're the best friend a girl could ever ask for," she told him, smiling.

Choji gently brought Ino's hand to his lips and kissed it. "My pleasure, Ino," he told her. Ino was surprised to find herself blushing at Choji's simple gesture. In retrospect, Ino would point to that moment as the first time that she really saw Choji as a man she would be willing and happy to spend her life with rather than just an old friend and teammate. At that moment, though, she was just enjoying the attention being ravished on her by the heavy-set boy. Choji released her hand then, and the two rose and made their way out of the training ground and toward their homes.

xxxxxx

Gaara smiled down at his apprentice as she opened her eyes. She blinked and looked around, confused. "Where am I?" Matsuri asked right away, sitting up quickly, a look of fear on her face. Then she looked at Gaara. "And who are you?"

OMAKE!

Guren walked along the hallways of the hideout where she'd lived the last few months. Today for some reason, she was feeling particularly good, and it was giving her a slight jump to her step. It even made her feel like...singing! She decided to give it a try and hope her second-in-command would join in.

_It's a beautiful day,_ she began. As she hoped, her inferior joined her.

_It's a rather nice day,_ he sang.

_A day for a glorious invasion!_

_We're just planning, to be perfectly clear._

_Planning for a glorious invasion!_

_Assuming nothing happens that we don't really know._

_That nothing unexpected interferes with the show._

At this point, the two sang together. _And that's why everything, every last little thing, every single tiny microscopic little thing, must go..._

Their voices separated again. _ According to plan._

_The Leaf we'll destroy._

_According to plan._

_Our people we'll aid._

(Both.): _Elevate to the ranks of the Great Nations!_

_We'll have a Kage._

_He'll lead us all._

_To join the nobles at the capitol._

_To meet up with our daimyo._

(Both): _We'll be there, we'll be seen, having tea with the queen._

_We'll forget everything, that we've ever ever been!_ Guren smiled at her second-in-command, pleased with the man's performance.

Unknown to Guren, Orochimaru and Kabuto were, at that exact moment, singing a song of a different type.

_It's a terrible day._

_Now don't be that way._

_It's a terrible day for our village!_

_It's a sad, sad state of affairs we're in._

_That could be the end of our village!_

_How could our leader have come to this?_

(Both): _To need to find a body among the lower ranks._

_They're so common._

_So weak._

_Oh, it couldn't be worse._

_Couldn't be worse? I'm afraid I disagree. They could be high-ranking shinobi stuck in decaying bodies, with just one chance at life, just like you, my lord!_

_Oh, dear._

(Both): _And that's why everything, every last little thing, every single tiny microscopic little thing must go..._

_According to plan._

_A body we'll find._

_According to plan._

_Our village led._

_From the verge of destruction._

_To the noble realm._

_Of our birthright._

(Both): _And who would have guessed in a million years, that our fodder with the rank._

_That leads to our having much shame._

_Would provide our ticket to a rightful place._

_Leadership is a joint effort, a little tit-for-tat. You'd think years of experience might have taught us that._

_Everything must be perfect._

_Everything must be perfect._

(Both): _Everything must be perfect, perfect._

At that moment, Guren, her second-in-command, Orochimaru, and Kabuto entered an eerie sync and finished the final line of the song together. _And that's why everything, every last little thing, every single tiny microscopic little thing must go...ACCORDING TO PLAN!_

Author Note: Yeah, I know the omake was a bit random, but it's my first try at one, and my first try at a parody song too, so cut me some slack. Outside that, I hope you all enjoyed the chapter, and I hope the omake at least made you chuckle. Also, kudos to anyone who recognizes what I'm parodying there.


	6. Back to Business as Usual

Chapter 6

Matsuri blinked and shook her head. She wasn't sure what was wrong, but everything she was looking at was extremely blurry. "It's me, Gaara," the blob with a red blob on top of it said.

Matsuri launched herself at the blob that had spoken. As she came to within a foot of him, her sensei and crush finally became clear to her eyes. Kissing him on the cheek, she whispered, "Thank you, Gaara-sensei."

Gaara blushed as red as his hair, at which point Matsuri couldn't help but giggle. Most of the people in the Sand Village might fear or hate Gaara, but Matsuri knew he was a good, strong person and would some day make a hell of a Kazekage. Hell, maybe that day would come sooner than anyone thought, if he won this tournament. "What are you thanking me for, Matsuri?" Gaara asked, interrupting the girl's thoughts. "If I hadn't put up that sand wall, you would have never gotten hurt like you did."

Matsuri pulled back and looked at the redhead she so adored with a small smile. "That may be true, but if you hadn't, we would have all gotten hit by that fireball and died. You saved us all, and I'll gladly take a hit on the head for that. So again, Gaara-sensei, thank you," she answered him.

Gaara chuckled, blushing even deeper. "Well, thank you, too, Matsuri. Seeing you sacrifice yourself to save someone else like you did reminded me what's really important. It was seeing you do that that gave me the strength to fight and protect my people from the Uchiha," he told her. "If I become Kazekage, it will be because you gave me the strength to do it."

Matsuri blushed and smiled, looking away from the redhead. Gaara turned her head back toward his and smiled at her gently, stroking her face with his hand softly. Tsunade, watching them from across the room, smiled at Shizune, who was standing beside her. Neither spoke, waiting to see what would happen. Gaara leaned down and pressed his forehead to Matsuri's, then touched his lips to hers gently. Matsuri responded willingly, and, when the two separated after their first kiss, the brunette was smiling and blushing happily.

Tsunade chose that moment to interrupt the two. "Is something wrong, Matsuri?" she asked. Matsuri tensed and groped for Gaara, who had backed up as Tsunade spoke. Matsuri turned toward Gaara, fear obvious in her eyes.

Gaara moved back toward the girl and rested a hand on her shoulder gently. "I'm right here, Matsuri," he said quietly, comfortingly. Matsuri seemed to relax at his words and gave her sensei a grateful smile.

Tsunade tried again. "I'm Tsunade," she said gently. "I'm the Fifth Hokage. You seemed to be having some kind of trouble when you first woke up. What was it?"

Matsuri looked toward the voice, her worry clear in her eyes. "I can barely see," she said after a moment, her voice shaky. "All I can make out is vague shapes. I couldn't see Gaara-sensei's face until he was right in front of me. Just...vague shapes and colors, that's all."

Tsunade came over by the clearly distraught girl's bedside and gave her a smile. "You're in good hands," she said. "I'm known as the best medical ninja in the world, and there's damn good reason for that." Reaching out, her hands began to glow green as she gathered her chakra and rested her hands on Matsuri's head. Probing inside the girl's head, she made her way to the optic nerve. _"Interesting,"_ she thought to herself. _"It's not the nerve or the eye, and it doesn't seem to be brain damage, so that's good. But then...what is wrong here?"_ Then she ran her senses along the optic nerve again. _"There!"_ she thought in triumph as she found it. It seemed as if there was an electrical current running through the nerve itself and causing interference between the young girl's eyes and brain.

Tsunade couldn't help giving off a small chuckle as she siphoned off the trouble-causing current. Matsuri blinked and looked around in wonder. "I can see!" she said happily. Tsunade withdrew her hands, letting the girl sit up. The brunette threw her arms around her buxom doctor's neck in gratitude. "Thank you so much, Lady Hokage!" she said, tears filling her eyes.

Tsunade smiled. It was times like this that made her remember why she became a medic in the first place. Extracting herself from the excited girl's arms, Tsunade smiled at them, then her face regained a serious look. "Matsuri, as you may or may not know, Gaara here took down a rogue ninja from this village during the fight where you were injured," she began. Matsuri sighed; she'd kinda figured that would happen when she saw the Uchiha attacking them. Tsunade continued after a moment, "As a result, we had to postpone the beginning of the Kazekage tournament. You haven't missed anything yet." Matsuri waved that off; that thought hadn't even occurred to her. Tsunade smiled; it was obvious Matsuri was just glad Gaara was safe. "On a brighter note, everyone made it here just fine, you and Hinata were the only ones really hurt, and Naruto was exhausted but fine. We all owe Gaara here a great deal; it's only because of him you, Naruto, and Hinata even made it back at all."

Matsuri smiled. "I'm glad to hear that," she said softly.

It was at this point that Gaara decided to speak to his student as her sensei. "That was foolish and reckless of you to risk your life like that, Matsuri," he said, his voice stern.

Matsuri looked somewhat apologetic, but she responded, "I couldn't just let them get hurt, Gaara-sensei!"

Gaara chuckled at the girl's protest. "No, I know you couldn't, and I'm glad you didn't," he said, his voice full of pride now. "It may have been foolish and reckless, but it's also the bravest, most selfless thing I've ever seen someone do, and it made me incredibly proud to be your sensei."

Matsuri blushed, but she couldn't hide her pleased smile; that was the kindest thing anyone had ever said to her. "Thank you so much, Gaara-sensei," she said back. Turning to Tsunade, she asked, "Is there anything else you need with me, Lady Hokage?"

Tsunade shook her head. "If you're feeling up to getting up, you're free to go. I'm sure I'll see you both around," she told the brunette, including Gaara in the latter comment.

Gaara nodded, then held out a hand to Matsuri, who took it and rose to her feet. She was a little shaky for a moment, but that passed quickly, and the two left the Hokage's office, their hands linked.

Tsunade watched them leaving with a small smile on her face, then turned to Shizune, her eyes worried. "Where the hell did Sasuke learn to do that?" she asked rhetorically.

xxxxxx

As Gaara and Matsuri made their way out of the Hokage Tower, the redhead's face was slightly pink due to the constant contact between himself and his student. Looking over the village from the door to the tower, Matsuri commented idly, "It's beautiful here, isn't it?"

Gaara smiled and answered, "Yeah, it really is, isn't it?" The two began to walk around the village. Neither of them was particularly surprised to find Kankuro chasing an attractive girl a few minutes later. They _were_ surprised, however, to find Temari talking to a black-haired boy wearing a flak jacket and with his hair pulled up into a topknot that gave his head a distinct resemblance to a pineapple. The two were walking down the street toward Gaara and Matsuri when they first saw them. "Just couldn't wait to find Shikamaru, huh, Temari?" Gaara teased his sister.

Temari blushed slightly, and Shikamaru looked back and forth between the two siblings, his face clearly confused. Shaking his head, the lazy genius kept walking, muttering, "This is too much of a drag for me to get involved in."

Temari snarled at Gaara briefly, then smiled at Matsuri. "Don't pick on me about my boyfriend, I won't make fun of you about your girlfriend," she told Gaara in return before leaving to follow after Shikamaru.

Matsuri looked up at Gaara, her eyes surprised. "Did she just call me your...girlfriend?" she asked after a moment. Gaara nodded. Matsuri shrugged and linked her arm with his.

Gaara smiled. "I think she also admitted to dating Shikamaru," he said. "The world must be ending."

Matsuri giggled. "Nah, that won't happen until _he_ admits it," she said back.

Gaara chuckled again. "You do have a point, my dear," he teased. "That would indeed be the end of the world, if that lazy bastard ever admitted to being involved in something that's 'such a drag'." The redhead's voice matched Shikamaru's perfectly as he said the genius's favorite expression, causing Matsuri to giggle yet again.

Kankuro, who had happened to see the four meet, snarled in frustration. "How can those two be so lucky when every girl I try to talk to tells me I should hit on one of my puppets?" he asked himself in frustration.

"You're a puppet-master?" a voice asked from nearby. Turning, Kankuro was surprised to find a young-looking woman with purple hair looking at him curiously.

"Why, yes, I am, as a matter of fact," he told her.

"That is so cool!" she said. "How do you get your chakra so thin in the strings?"

Kankuro grinned and began to tell the young woman everything he could about his craft. _"Maybe I'll get lucky yet,"_ he thought to himself.

xxxxxx

Neji sighed as he walked down the main street of the village. The last few days had just been insane. Sasuke was declared a rogue ninja, then killed by Gaara of all people, Lee was disillusioned about Sakura when the pink-haired girl tried to attack the unconscious Naruto, and now he had seen Shikamaru with Gaara's blond-haired sister and Kankuro, Gaara's brother, talking to a purple-haired woman that he would have sworn he recognized as one of the ANBU who had fought against the Sand and Sound during their invasion not long ago. Had the entire world gone insane? On the other hand, though, who was Neji to question forgiveness? As he had said himself to Sakura not long ago, if anyone understood forgiveness, it was him.

Speaking of Sakura, there she was, coming toward Neji with a shy look on her face. "Neji?" she said hesitantly when he came within earshot of her. He nodded, an eyebrow raised curiously. "You said yesterday that you'd see me around...I was hoping...can I talk to you?" she asked.

"You may. What can I do for you, Sakura?" Neji said, his voice friendly. As he spoke, he continued walking, and Sakura fell into step beside him.

Sakura sighed deeply. "I'm sure Naruto's heard by now what happened," she said. Neji could easily tell the girl was deeply distressed. "I know I wasn't always the best friend to him, but I did consider him a friend. Now, I'm afraid I may have lost that...and I don't know that I deserve to have him forgive me."

Neji gave the girl a small sidelong smile. "I didn't deserve his forgiveness, Sakura," he said. "I nearly killed my own cousin, insulted him grievously, and, in all reality, tried to kill him. Even after all that, he forgave me when he saw that I had legitimately changed. If he can forgive me, I'm sure he'll forgive you." Neji paused briefly, then added, "At least, if you show him you really want to change, he will."

Sakura gave Neji a small smile. "Thanks, Neji. I'm sure you're right, now that I think about it," she commented, her voice low. She took a deep breath, reaffirming her determination. "Yeah, I'll talk to Naruto, show him I've really changed...I'll earn his forgiveness."

Neji chuckled and rested a hand on Sakura's shoulder. He gave her a genuine smile, one of the very few he had ever bestowed on anyone outside his own family, and told her, "I'm glad to hear you say that, Sakura." Just then he looked up and saw Naruto and Hinata making their way toward them down the street. He chuckled again and added, "And here comes your chance now."

Hinata was the first one to notice Neji and Sakura coming toward them. She froze momentarily, which drew Naruto's attention to the pink-haired girl. Naruto froze as well. His eyes filled with a look of such betrayal and fear Sakura's heart hurt for him. _"I really did hurt him, didn't I?"_ she thought to herself. She sighed. _"Oh well, I guess I just need to try harder."_ As she thought this, Naruto came within earshot. "Hey, Naruto!" she called out. Naruto stopped and tensed up, clearly not happy that she was addressing him.

Hinata rested a hand on Naruto's arm gently and leaned up to whisper something in his ear. Naruto looked at Sakura hesitantly a moment, then shook his head, giving a smile to Hinata, seemingly grateful. Hinata nodded in understanding and looked toward Neji, then back to Naruto with a question in her eyes. Naruto nodded this time. Hinata came forward, gripped Neji's hand, and dragged him off. Neji knew better than to protest. That look in Hinata's eyes...he was pretty sure if he tried to protest, he'd be in some pretty serious pain. When they were out of earshot, Hinata said quietly, "He wants to talk to Sakura alone, let's let them be." Neji smiled at his cousin and nodded.

Sakura turned to Naruto, her green eyes nervous. Naruto, his blue eyes cold, raised an eyebrow and waited for her to speak first. Sakura sighed. _"Well, I guess I'm going to have to speak first,"_ she thought. "Naruto," she began, her voice quiet.

Naruto held up a hand. "You don't have to worry, Sakura, I'm not going to ask you out anymore," he said seriously, his voice steady, his eyes curious but still cold.

Sakura gasped; for some reason, that kinda hurt. "That's not what I was worried about, Naruto," she said. "I'm sure you heard what I did." He nodded, his eyes hurt. "I'm so sorry, Naruto, I wasn't thinking straight...I was just so upset, I lashed out at you, and I really shouldn't have. It was stupid of me to do that...and I know I don't deserve it, but can you ever forgive me?"

Naruto thought for a moment, then turned his usual cheerful smile on Sakura. "Sure, I can, Sakura. After all, we're friends, right?" he said.

To Naruto's disappointment, Sakura never noticed that his smile was fake. She forced a smile herself, which he could easily tell was more relieved than happy. "Right," she said simply. The two friends parted, Naruto heading off toward where Hinata and Neji had gone, Sakura continuing toward the Hokage tower, where she'd been going when she first saw Neji.

xxxxxx

Sakura slowly entered Tsunade's office when she was told the Hokage would see her. Tsunade looked up at the pink-haired girl with annoyance obvious in her brown eyes. Sakura winced slightly at the glare being leveled at her by the legendary medic. "What can I do for you, Sakura?" Tsunade asked, her voice hard, cold.

Sakura winced. This wasn't going to be easy. "I'd like to request a long-term C-rank, Lady Hokage," she said.

Tsunade raised an eyebrow. That was the last thing she'd expected Sakura to request. Thinking about it, she realized there was an obvious reason for it. "You're trying to avoid Naruto and the others," she said. Sakura nodded after a moment. "I have to deny your request, Sakura. You need to set things straight with Naruto, and avoiding the others will just make them more angry at you, not make this go away. You tried to attack a fellow Leaf shinobi who was completely defenseless and who has never done anything but try to help and befriend you. If you simply vanish, it will seem to them like you have so little respect for them that you would simply turn your back on what you did. I cannot allow you to do that."

Sakura took a deep breath. "I understand, Lady Hokage," she said. Bowing deeply, Sakura left the Hokage's office.

Tsunade sighed. "I hate to admit it," she said to herself, "but I probably would have lashed out at Jiraiya just like she lashed out at Naruto. That girl is so like me it's more than a little creepy. I guess it falls to me to protect her from herself." Shaking her head, she groaned, "What have I gotten myself into?"

xxxxxx

Arriving at his building, Naruto was slightly surprised to find Hinata waiting for him outside. "Hinata?" he said. "What are you doing here?"

Hinata smiled at him. "I wanted to make sure everything was okay with you and Sakura," she said. "That, and I can't really go home yet, our mission isn't done yet, so I figured I'd come here for the time being."

Naruto chuckled, then the two entered the blond's building together. After making their way up to the blond's small apartment, Hinata asked Naruto, "Is everything okay with Sakura?"

Naruto sighed. "Well, not entirely, given what she did...I think she's sincere in her apology, though, so I'm willing to give her a chance," he said back. "And don't worry, I'm all yours," he added when Hinata looked distressed.

Hinata blushed furiously and boldly approached Naruto. She wrapped him in a hug and whispered into his chest, "Finally...I've wished for this for so long t-that I just want to be selfish. I just want you to be all mine."

Naruto pulled back a bit and smiled at her. "I am. And you're all mine," he told her back, winking at her. He chuckled when she blushed again, then wrapped her in his arms and spun her around playfully. Hinata squealed and giggled at her boyfriend's antics. Naruto smiled at his girlfriend, then stopped and set her down. He thought a moment, then said, "Is it just me, or is it still really hard to believe that we're...you know, a couple?"

Hinata blushed as he said that, but her smile was all the brighter. "It's hard to believe, but I, for one, have never been happier in my life," she said.

Suddenly, Naruto backed away from Hinata, holding up his hand to signal her to stay put. Reaching into his bag, the one he'd had with him during their trip, he rummaged around a bit, eventually pulling out a scroll. Hinata raised an eyebrow at it. Naruto handed it to her. "Open it," he said, clearly giddy.

Hinata opened the scroll and found a containment seal drawn into it. She looked at her boyfriend questioningly. Naruto nodded and gestured for her to unseal it. Hinata did. A large bouquet of flowers, wrapped in some kind of purplish wax paper, sprang from the seal. Hinata gasped, then gaped at the flowers, not sure what she was looking at was real. Naruto chuckled. Hinata looked up at him and asked, "What is this?"

Naruto chuckled again. "This is what I was doing during the trip. I was gathering flowers. I heard before we left that you like to press flowers, so I went out and looked for some that we don't have here and some rare ones and what not to give to you as a gift. This...is what I found," he told her.

Hinata blushed, looking through the massive collection he had amassed during their trip. Suddenly, she let out an excited squeal and threw herself at Naruto, hugging him tightly. Naruto hugged her back, chuckling quietly at her antics. _"She is just too cute for her own good sometimes,"_ Naruto thought.

The young couple breathed deeply of one another's scent, loving how close they felt to one another, how safe they felt together, and how complete they felt. It had been far too long since either of them felt this way. They both knew that moments of peace like this were rare indeed in the life of a ninja, so both were determined to enjoy it to its utmost. Their decision was wise indeed, for this was the last moment of peace either of them would enjoy for a long time.


End file.
